Shining Tales: Desert Blade
by felixrockatansky
Summary: The first spin off of the Shining tales. When an unknown energy source is discovered in Charom, Scizor and Lopunny reunite to embark on a new adventure across the Shan'rala Desert in order to prevent a chain of sinister events that threaten to put the entire island in danger.
1. Prologue

**Shining Tales: Desert Blade**

 **Prologue**

The rain pelted hard into the stormy ocean, dropping from the storm laced night sky. It was as if the heavens were at war and the results were hell on earth. The wind howled loudly through the air and all water pokemon down below retreated as deep as they could go, hiding until the destructive deluge had stopped. One would have to be absolutely insane to think about traveling through the storm. To do so in a small wooden boat no less would require the most dangerous mixture of bravery and lunacy. This precise concoction exactly was paying off for four pokemon in particular who were attempting to brave the brutal sea as best they could.

'Hold on!'

There were huge cracks in the vessel the moment that the words were shouted from the captains mouth. Their boat splintered down the middle after an especially violent wave had crashed aboard. The leader and one of his companions slipped and slid across their wet floor, doing everything they could to not topple overboard.

'Ugh!' The captain grunted, clanking his blue metal body against the damaged starboard. His green friend was a little more stable and elegant, managing to leap up over a skidding piece of wood and land atop the poop deck, squinting his eyes to try and see in the darkness.

'It's impossible to make out anything!' he yelled out, his smooth voice rippling through the barrage of sound.

'That's what you're worried about!?' shouted the captain, trying to remain standing on the wet surface.

'It's for docking purposes!' the green pokemon yelled back, a flash of lightning illuminating the horizon and causing him his eyes to light up. 'There! Land! I saw land!'

'Some docking this is going to be.' grunted the captain as salty water splashed on to his face. He shook it off and spun round, seeing another of his companions burst through through the door from the lower decks. In contrast to the more elegant quadrupedal bodies of him and his green friend, this brown pokemon was stocky, broad and low built to the ground. Pure power in the form of a pokemon.

'Where were you!?'

'I couldn't stay out here for long could I!?' the brown pokemon scowled, his gravelly voice making him difficult to be understood in these conditions. 'I can't stay on one side, I'll probably capsize the ship!'

'Don't be ridiculous!' the leader shouted before looking back up. 'How far away is that land?'

The green pokemon was about to respond before another wave drenched the top of the boat, dousing him in freezing water. He gasped for breath, looking more annoyed at the fact that his appearance was now disheveled than anything else.

'I don't know! Like...' He craned his neck, his skin bitter cold. 'A mile away?'

'Great...' the leader clenched his teeth while his burly companion gulped.

'That's a long time to swim!' he said as their ship continued to break apart slowly due to the torrential storm. It was as if the great Kyogre was punishing them for daring to bring justice to the seas he worked so hard to create.

'For us three yeah,' the leaders voice was more confident now. 'but not for another!'

He spun round to face the front of the ship, praying for the fourth member of the crews safety and well being.

'Keldeo!' he screamed at the top of his lungs. 'Where are you-'

A massive bolt of lightning pierced the centre of the ship, ripping straight through the wood and sending all three pokemon tumbling backwards violently. The boat was split in two, the front of it breaking away from its crew at the back and floating devilishly away from them. They all rushed to the edge, hoping against hope that they wouldn't see their little friend bobbing away into the distance, straying further and further away from his big buddies. They didn't. Instead, they heard him.

'Guys!' the unicorn like pokemon shouted, his little blue head bobbing out of the bottom deck in the seperated ship and his tone desperate. 'Cobalion! Virizion! Terrakion! Help me!'

'Keldeo!' The leader, now known as Cobalion, was thinking of all the ways to reach his little friend before he disappeared in the storm. His teammates, the vain green Virizion and the stoic brown Terrakion were attempting to hold themselves down as the wind became stronger and stronger, the streaks of lightning becoming more persistent. Two bolts came forking downwards at blinding speed but were both countered by Virizion skilfully dodging one and Terrakion shrugging the other off like it was a scrunched up paper ball.

'Guys!' Keldeo continued to shout, the boat segment cracking all around him and his pleas for help seeming more hopeless. 'Don't leave me!'

'What are we going to do!?' Virizion landed next to Cobalion while Terrakion applied his mass to one side to steady the tipping vessel. 'He's too far away!'

'I'm working on it.' Cobalion's expression was of anguish and dismay as he watched the far away hulk of the ship containing Keldeo move further in the distance, now unable to hear the cries for help. 'We need to-'

Cobalion couldn't finish his sentence as a shout from behind him made himself and Virizion spin round at the sound of the panic in Terrakion's voice.

'Rogue wave!' he yelled, backing off beside Cobalion. In front of them all, fast approaching was a monstrous tidal wave, at least twenty feet tall. It was bearing down on the shattered and pathetic little ship, ready to descend and unleash its massive power. Despite the daunting force of nature preparing to ruin their night, Cobalion stood tall in the face of fear. He extended his front right leg and flared up a blue shape made of his own energy. He nodded at the other two by his side and they both did the same, the three moves shaping themselves into the form of large swords and all pointing up at the rogue wave. We'll find you, Keldeo, thought Cobalion, shoulder to shoulder with his partners. We never leave a pokemon behind.

'All for one!' he yelled loudly over the storm.

'And one for all!' the other two finished off. The wave eventually dropped, the huge volume of water plummeting onto the brave Cobalion, Terrakion and Virizion on their wreckage. As the water brought one half of the boat down to the depths of the ocean floor, the other half containing the distraught Keldeo continued to drift further away in the direction of the land that had been spotted earlier. He had no idea what would await him when he landed on this mysterious land or what kind of pokemon would be there. He slumped down on his front, his expression miserable. The wind and lightning had died down a bit but it was still pouring with cold rain, almost to rub it in his face that his friends had been defeated just before the storm calmed down. Keldeo still had faith however that they were all still alive. A measly tidal wave could never take down the swords of justice! It was wishful thinking but he remained optimistic. After all, faith and optimism was what had saved this new land a few months ago from a force of evildoers. A peculiar country known only as Charom.


	2. Chapter One: Loose Ends

**Chapter One: Loose Ends**

'I'm telling you man it's unfair!'

Hitmonchan was attempting to state his case to his co-worker as they stood on guard outside a sealed metal door. He had an exasperated facial expression and was leaning against the wall while the other security officer, Passimian, was actually doing his job in looking out for any danger on the six large screens positioned above them at the top of the wall.

'How is it unfair?'

'I just think it's weird how us two have been working our asses off each day for the past two weeks and he,' Hitmonchan jerked his head back at the door they were in front of. 'gets to lounge about in that stupid office all day.'

'I thought you'd be content with this kind of job.' Passimian looked skeptically.

'Well yeah when there's things to do!' Hitmonchan replied. 'Haven't had any action though! Everything has been dandy for three months! Maybe these new leaders ain't half bad when it comes to defence but it still means I'm bored shitless!'

Passimian gave a nonchalant shrug but he knew Hitmonchan had given a good point. Ever since the defeat of the Clan of Shadows at the hands of the unlikely heroes that were the Shining Beacons, the nation really had flourished. The odd pokemon Shaymin had continued to sow the seeds of recovery wherever it went while the hard working pokemon of the land had committed to help rebuild the once great city of Tanapas. The destruction of Charom's monarchy had practically reset the infrastructure of leadership with all three major cities acquiring new heads of government. The mastermind behind Tanapas's restoration was the headstrong and hard working Klinklang, fully committed to rotate the cogs and gears of the city engine. The leader of Giruphin was none other than one of the saviors of Charom, Gallade, having recorded a landslide win against his corrupt and cowardly opponent, Dusknoir, who found himself in prison shortly after due to his ties with the Clan of Shadows. Finally, due to the absence of the King and Queen watching over Sheasip, the rural area had assigned a local and popular citizen, Wormadam, to oversee the region for the foreseeable future. The less densely populated areas like Stian, Harfawn, Aryil, Pariliun and Fayonra still retained stable leadership and peaceful negotiations while the lawless areas of Vortur, Rylus, Marikus and Shan'rala managed to keep their own problems contained within.

'I swear there should be rotations.' Hitmonchan was beginning to bore Passimian with his constant whining. 'One hour, one in there. The next hour we swap. Simple as that eh?'

'Yup. Simple.' Passimian stretched his back and yawned. While his eyes were closed and Hitmonchan was looking back at the door in longing, a figure in one of the television screens flashed by at a lightning quick speed.

'So have you bought the whole name changing thing?' Hitmonchan finally changed the subject.

'Yeah.' said Passimian, looking back up at the footage in front of them. 'Have you?'

'The name is Floyd.' Hitmonchan beamed, raising his fists. 'So happy that it came to an agreement. Was sick of that stupid name rule.'

'Me too.' Passimian agreed, smirking at Hitmonchan throwing some practice punches at thin air. 'Mayor Gallade was actually quite skeptical of it.'

'I don't like that guy to be honest.' Hitmonchan scowled, hopping from side to side on his tip toes.

'You don't?'

'Nah.' Hitmonchan shook his head. 'I don't really get him. He claims to value the free will of all citizens of Charom yet he believes that archaic name rule is useful. His logic is stupid.'

'He should be opposed to the rule in my opinion,' Passimian began to grin as a dark joke crept into his mind. 'seeing as his wife could forget his name at any second.'

Hitmonchan snorted and clapped his hand over his mouth.

'Ouch.' he laughed. There was then a clatter to their left, causing both guards to cease their mirth and spin round to face the direction of the disturbance.

'Sorry!' a voice cried out from behind the corner. A female voice. 'I didn't mean that! Just fixing the air ventilation!'

'A girl?' Hitmonchan frowned before calling out. 'You need help there love?'

'Oh yes please!' the female pokemon said loudly. 'This thing is out of my reach!'

'Make way for the bachelors.' Hitmonchan said smugly, marching over to the corner and disappearing out of sight to provide assistance. Passimian rolled his eyes and folded his arms, leaning against the wall. Ten seconds passed before he realized something strange. Hitmonchan's voice could not be heard. Passimian tilted his head in curiosity at the peculiar silence before taking a step forward.

'Hey Floyd!' he shouted. There was no answer. He took more tentative steps forward, now genuinely concerned. He was about to progress further before noticing something chilling in the television screens up ahead. A pokemon standing and staring up at the camera located on the ceiling, childishly smiling and waving giddily with a plastic bag clutched in her other hand. Beneath her feet was the body of Hitmonchan, lying on his back, his eyes white as a ghost. Before Passimian could even react, a pair of steel hands clamped tightly around his head and jaw. In one swift and strong motion, Passimian's neck and spinal cord was snapped by the steel pokemon and he collapsed in a heap on the floor. The murderer knelt down on one knee and plucked a set of keys from the belt around the deceased Passimian's waist as his companion rounded the corner, smacking her hands together in a job well done.

'I didn't know you could move so stealthily.' Nidoqueen said, leaning against the wall with her outstretched hand. 'A red and black automaton is quite the sight to miss.'

'And I was unaware that you could get men to actually come running for you.' Bisharp replied, standing up straight and swinging the keys around in a circle.

'Oh Bisharp.' Nidoqueen shook her head, watching him unlock the door. 'You seem to forget that about yourself running after me all those weeks ago.'

There was a clank as the right key was selected and the door swung open. Bisharp allowed Nidoqueen to step in first to confront the poor soul whose cushy job was about to be spoiled.

'You!?' the timid whismur cried out, his voice bouncing off the walls of the small, heavily wired room. 'You...Nidoqueen! Clan of Shadows!'

'Your keywords are accurate.' Nidoqueen politely smiled, clasping her hands together and staring at Whismur shaking in his chair behind a large computer. 'It's nice to meet you!'

Whismur span round in his chair, aiming to hit the alarm button under his desk but Bisharp had appeared at the speed of sound, blocking his access.

'I wouldn't if I were you.' Bisharp warned him. Whismur gulped and sank down in his chair. Bisharp stood still as a statue while Nidoqueen approached, her hands resting on the back of the spinning chair.

'I feel so bad, darling.' Nidoqueen said nonchalantly, gently spinning around the chair with the nervous Whismur still seated on top of it. 'Such a cute little thing. Why couldn't they replace you with a mean looking pokemon that I wouldn't regret having to remove?'

'P...Please...' Whismur shook, his entire body trembling. 'Don't... Don't kill me.'

Nidoqueen stood up straight and halted the spinning of the chair.

'Calm down.' she said bluntly. 'I'm not going to kill you.'

'Really?' Whismur's face changed to relief before Nidoqueen spoke again.

'He'll do it.' she nodded at Bisharp. 'He isn't as soppy as me I am afraid.'

Whismur screamed for a second before his life was ended by a swift slice from Bisharp's razor sharp blades. The two former clan pokemon turned round to the huge monitor before them as the spirit of Whismur departed the body that fell to the ground, blood soaking the floor.

'We should clean that up later.' Nidoqueen said before adjusting the screen. 'You're definitely sure this is the one?'

'I don't make mistakes.' said Bisharp, tapping on the keyboard and accessing some complicated looking data files. 'Everything we need is here. It's just what we can do with it that remains to be seen.'

Nidoqueen nodded and turned to make sure that no further security was heading their way. She noticed a mop and bucket in the corner of the room which she took hold of and began to use to clean up the bloodstains on the cold floor.

'Bingo.'

Bisharp had clicked on a certain document that was titled 'Clan'. Inside was a list of multiple pokemon with different statuses next to their names. He flew over them with the touchpad and saw each of their records individually while Nidoqueen continued to mop the floor of all evidence.

'Three disappeared.' Bisharp told her as he carried on his digging. 'The rest either deceased or apprehended.'

'Who else has survived?' Nidoqueen asked, kicking Whismur's body into the wall for her to reach under and remove more blood. 'Us two and..?'

'Gengar.' Bisharp said flatly, his face full of disgust as he stared at the picture of said pokemon. 'To be expected of course.'

'Fearless leader.' Nidoqueen muttered sarcastically. She stuck the mop back in its bucket and reached back over to join Bisharp at the computer screen.

'You do know that the mop has bloodstains all over it?' Bisharp raised his eyebrow.

'I'll deal with that.' Nidoqueen said, her glare fixed on the records of her fallen comrades. She analyzed them one by one, muttering corresponding adjectives and insults. 'Coward. Useless. Barbarian...'

Bisharp said nothing. His gaze had fallen to the statuses of the apprehended clan pokemon. Their sentences simply read 'incarcerated for life'. The mugshots of Zoroark, Conkeldurr, Tyranitar and Hypno did not jump out at him like they did when the news had first surfaced. He was now used to it. It had been a long three months.

'Should we..?' Nidoqueen had caught sight of the pictures that Bisharp was staring at and was now pointing tentatively at the images.

'Should we what?'

'You know...' Nidoqueen retracted her hand and turned her head to the permanently serious Bisharp. '...Help them?'

'No.' The one word was final in Bisharp's mind.

'Why not?'

'And have them hinder us again?' Bisharp spat at the photo of Zoroark. 'They had their chance and they blew it. This is something we cannot afford to jeopardize.'

Nidoqueen nodded, her attitude towards her old teammates not as spiteful as Bisharps but still wary. Bisharp had become slightly more emotional since his defeat at the hands of Gallade at the battle of the courtyard. While still a remorseless machine, he was now more cautious and would never underestimate anything like he used to. His ribcage had been damaged to such an extent that his style of combat had changed from relentless offense to a more defensive version, as if he was all too afraid of suffering another potentially critical blow.

'On you go then.' Nidoqueen sighed, tapping her stubby fingers against the table. 'Erase the records.'

Bisharp proceeded to type up more combinations while Nidoqueen waited, staring around the room. Her eyes fell on the wall next to the door leading to the corridor and a single landscape photograph covering it. Her bored face changed quickly to a grimace as she recognized the many familiar faces. The caption read 'unlikely union crush clan' in big bold letters. Down beneath the slogan were eight of the dastardly pokemon that had somehow brought their new world crashing down upon the seemingly failure proof Clan of Shadows. The sight of one of the Shining Beacons sent Nidoqueen into more of a fevered temper as she stared hard at the brown bunny. _Irritating little miss perfect_.

'Lopunny...' she snarled.

'Nothings happening.'

'What!?' Nidoqueen snapped, more viciously than she had intended.

'It's deadlocked.' Bisharp said, pushing more and more buttons to no avail. 'It won't let me delete it.'

'Then just dismantle the computer!'

'What good will that do?' Bisharp banged on the desk and lowered his head. The screen showing both of their wrongdoings and bounties was flashing red with a large message appearing in the middle saying 'prohibited'. Nidoqueen cursed before reaching upwards and ripping off the photo on the wall. Bisharp watched as she flung the glass case downwards, shattering it completely so all that remained was the still picture.

'Any need?' Bisharp asked.

'Who do you have more hatred for?' Nidoqueen pointed downwards, her finger hovering over Lopunny and the scarlet insect by her side. 'Our former comrades or any of these guys?'

Bisharp did not answer. Nidoqueen bent over and picked up the landscape photo, her sharp claws piercing through the edges. In the middle stood Charizard giving an obnoxious salute while on his left stood Sceptile, Milotic and Electivire and on his right were Gallade, Gardevoir, Lopunny and Scizor. There were a few others who weren't in the shot but Nidoqueen was beyond caring at this point.

'That is the source of all our misery.' Nidoqueen gestured, Bisharp turning around and skimming through more files out of curiosity. 'I would so love to tear them apart limb from limb but it is us against the whole land. One careless motion and Gallade would send platoons out en masse. What can we do?'

'Fascinating.' Bisharp said, observing a certain record filed under 'investigating'.

'What is?'

'Check this out.'

Nidoqueen made her way over to see what Bisharp was pointing at. It was the profile of a rather mean looking pokemon scowling at the camera. He had orange skin and a red mohawk on top of his head. His eyes were sullen and several of his teeth were replaced with golden replicants.

'This is Scrafty. True name is Hoodwink.' Bisharp explained, his eyes flitting to the extra information layed out to him. Nidoqueen snorted.

'Is he asking to be treated with suspicion with a name like that?' she asked, looking Hoodwink up and down.

'I've heard of this guy though.' Bisharp continued over Nidoqueen's snide remarks. 'When I was in Shan'rala. There was speculation that he funded explosives and other such things and sent them to other criminals throughout Charom or even overseas. Gallade and the other leaders,' Bisharp grimaced for a second as if the mentioning of his rivals name made him slightly annoyed. 'have since cut off all trades from him. Old Hoodwink here isn't very happy at all.'

'I see.' Nidoqueen said blankly, staring at the monitor. 'I don't see why this has anything to do with...'

She stopped where she was, ideas suddenly flooding her mind. Little pieces of information that had yet to be fully realized but could be pieced together and formed to make a master plan. She looked back up at Bisharp, her mad eyes flashing.

'Come on.' she beckoned him.

'Where are we going?'

'Where do you think?' Nidoqueen grinned, hoisting up the body of Whismur under her arm. 'To Shan'rala.'

'Any reason?' Bisharp inquired, shutting off the computer and shaking some dust off his shoulders. 'You want to see this guy?'

'Oh yes.' Nidoqueen proclaimed, taking a final glance at the photo of the Shining Beacons she clutched in her hand. 'Yes I do.' She spat right in the face of Lopunny before scrunching it up into a ball and tossing it into the bin. With that, the two former clan pokemon swiftly departed the room, not caring too much about the covering up of evidence in their desperation to achieve their final objectives, despite how different they were too each other.


	3. Chapter Two: Old Dogs, New Tricks

**Chapter Two: Old Dogs, New Tricks**

The cameras rattled and flashed to the point they would blind anyone who looked directly at them. The paparazzi and journalists had practically sparked into action the moment the guilty pokemon had exited the court where his crimes of treason and fraud had landed him a very long time in prison indeed. The cacophony of noise was matched by the surge of movement that needed to be barricaded by guard pokemon with all their weight. The more eager journalists attempted to push past while those with more first hand experience tended to lean back and watch the former mayor of Giruphin be lead to his fate, his face crestfallen and despondent.

'He doesn't seem...too bad?' a member of the crowd said to her friend as they observed the scenario in front of the brown building that was the high court. 'More like a big coward. Nothing malicious.'

'No way.' her friend, a machop, said with a glint of anger in his eyes. 'Anyone who puts the lives of their people in danger out of fear should be punished accordingly. He should have taken the hit for his city but he was too much of a stupid and selfish egomaniac to do so.'

The bellsprout who brought up the point frowned while Dusknoir was forced into the vehicle surrounded by law enforcement. While these two were chatting, a single pokemon had stepped up behind them, her face hidden by the hood thrown over her long ears. Lopunny was just back from performing more research on the locations of other potential clan members but to no avail. Her mind was easily distracted at the moment with the current situation unfolding as well as a meeting with a friend she had the other day. She tried to ignore the nagging ideas that were creeping up on her but it was like trying to shake off a headache by hitting yourself in the face.

'I mean,' Bellsprout continued her theories while not noticing the well known pokemon behind her. 'there is truth there but what would you do?'

'Me?' Machop drew himself up and puffed out his chest. 'I would have told that Gengar guy hell no! You can suck my-'

'Oh please.' Bellsprout rolled her eyes. 'You couldn't even win an arm wrestle with me. That's bad for a machop, Barry.'

'I told you to stop calling me that!' Barry the machop hissed at her. 'I just want Machop!'

'Why?' Bellsprout shook her head at this statement. 'At long last we can choose what we want to be identified as and you want to be the same?'

'That's where you're wrong!' Machop corrected her. Behind him, Lopunny was listening to this amusing conversation while her identity was still unknown to the public.

'How so?'

'Think about it!' Machop began to explain. 'Every other machop in the land will want to change their name! If they all go to their true name and I stick with just Machop then I will have a unique title. Nobody else will have my name if I am the only machop who doesn't change it!'

He looked at Bellsprout with a triumphant facial expression while Lopunny tried to erase the word 'machop' from repeating through her mind.

'Hmm...' Bellsprout thought hard for a few seconds. 'Nah. I'll call you Barry.'

'I hate you.' Barry grumbled, folding his arms. Lopunny smirked as the crowd began to finally disperse. She kept her head down as pokemon began to retreat backwards after their long and pointless barrage of picture taking and gossiping. The three month Dusknoir scenario was over. They would no longer hear from him again. Gallade and Gardevoir had their work cut out then, Lopunny thought to herself as rain began to splash down on to her hood. Who would have thought it would have taken this long?

'Ah you two!'

Barry and Bellsprout had twisted to their right at the sound of the high pitched, almost sing song voice. Lopunny was about to walk away before catching sight of the pokemon that had shouted over. You look familiar, she thought. The pokemon that had shown up was an elegant, white-blue sea lion with pink stars on the side of her head. She moved gracefully along the ground although Lopunny noticed a snooty expression on her face that was explained further with her next statement to her assistant next to her.

'I told you to clear the way in front of me to stop these dirty and awful paparazzi types from touching me.'

Her assistant, a cherrim, blushed and shuffled awkwardly from side to side. The primarina whipped her head back then addressed Barry and Bellsprout with Lopunny listening out of curiosity.

'Is that all we need?' she asked as Lopunny lowered her hood to allow her ears to pick up more.

'Yes Pri...Lucina.' Bellsprout nodded. Everyone seemed to be rather flustered around her. 'Nothing much to hear about. Guilty as everyone thought.'

'Ah that's disappointing.' Lucina the primarina shook her head, watching Dusknoir's police car drive away up the road and some flying journalists attempting to pursue it. 'Still we cannot dawdle!'

'With what?' asked Barry, perplexed. Lucina snorted.

'With the rest of the things going on just now!' she exclaimed, staring at Barry as if he was completely crazy. 'Who knows what scoops we could get?'

Lopunny rolled her eyes and turned away. Really? She was the one they got to replace me? Some snobby, attention seeking primadonna who would do anything for a news story. This is what they considered me at the time. Lopunny was more relieved that she had escaped the clutches of her news establishment than ever.

'Oh I know!' Bellsprout hopped up and down. 'We could run something on what happened recently in Shan'rala?'

Lopunny was about to walk away before she stopped in her tracks and turned back round, her ears pricking up at the news. Before she knew what she was doing, she had found her voice.

'What did you say?'

The paparazzi crew all reacted to the sound of the famous voice. Bellsprout let out a gasp while Cherrim squeaked like a chewy toy. Barry suddenly seemed to become nervous and Lopunny noticed him close his legs together slightly, causing her to almost wince. Lucina's face went from slightly manic with excitement to rather condescending.

'Oh if it isn't little miss Lopunny!' she crooned, twisting her body round to face her. 'Have you come here to see how much you've missed the lifestyle?'

'Am I meant to take you seriously with that accusation?' Lopunny raised her eyebrow at Lucina. 'Anyway, what were you saying about Shan'rala?'

'Wouldn't you like to know?' Lucina replied with a slight bite to her tone.

'Yes.' Lopunny said, stepping closer to her. 'That's why I asked.'

The look on Bellsprout's face at this sassy reply said it all. This was not the same Lopunny that existed three months ago.

'You believe that you're doing some important work don't you?' Lucina retorted, eying Lopunny's makeshift cloak with some disdain as if she was so perfect that anything untidy was beneath her. 'Although I know what you're really after when it comes to the Shan'rala desert.'

'And how would you know that?'

'I'm a journalist honey.' Lucina smirked, turning away and swishing her long hair around, seemingly transfixing her co workers. 'It's my job to find things out. Take a tip from me and do that more often, then you will get a clue.'

'Sick burns all round!' Cherrim exclaimed to the air.

'Sorry I didn't stick too long with the company, I was too busy saving the land.' Lopunny said, folding her arms. Lucina managed another scoff.

'Oh please,' she shook her head. 'Nobody actually believes you did a thing there. Just hanging off the coat tails of your ex boyfriend...Scizor.'

Lucinda sighed at the mention of the name along with Bellsprout and Cherrim. Lopunny had been hanging on to her cool by a thread which was being ever so slightly strained every second.

'You know what I don't care!' she held up her hand at the others, the women there still smitten with the thought of the scarlet insect. 'I'll find this out myself and make a real impact. Unlike you guys who are just going to skate around the issue and just take pretty pictures.'

With that, Lopunny turned and marched away, leaving her rival journalists gawking at her leaving.

'Her fifteen minutes of fame is up.' Lucina smiled at her partners. 'I think we should go do some work there.'

'Uh...Lucina.' Bellsprout waved her arm at her, her expression changing to rather worried. 'Are you saying we should all go to Shan'rala?'

Lucinda was confused.

'Of course!' she said. 'Why?'

Bellsprout glanced at Barry, who had just stopped looking at Lopunny's distant behind and gulped.

'Well me and Cherrim won't survive there for long.' Bellsprout claimed, with Cherrim nodding vigorously. 'We'll be cooked through if we stay there for a certain amount of time.'

'And a lot of rough pokemon too.' Barry glanced down at his pitiful excuse for triceps. For a machop, he was practically a disgrace. 'No chance of holding my own.'

'You gotta be kidding me.' Lucina was outraged, a tantrum quickly developing inside her.

'It should be simple for you though!' Bellsprout said quickly, watching Lucinda's spoiled and babyish expression build. 'Water pokemon should be unstoppable and plus you're really good at your job.'

'To think you guys would abandon me,' Lucina growled, forcing the others to edge away in fear. 'to a desert full of crazy, violent, unclean, uneducated pokemon in totally insane conditions!?'

Lucina was about to burst out in a fit of anger but contained herself. Instead she stared up at the grey clouds covering Tanapas City, wondering if perhaps this would settle the dispute between her and Lopunny once and for all. Maybe this will be okay, she thought to herself. Maybe then I can fully prove myself. Dangerous missions always get you on the front covers. Yeah...I can do this. Shan'rala here I come.

In contrast to the bleak and horrible weather in the city of Tanapas, the conditions of the Shan'rala desert was as they ever were. A scorching sun pierced the golden sand that stretched for a good quarter of Charom. The gargantuan area was by far the largest mass on the land, able to fit five Giruphin Cities inside of it. In the south of the desert was mostly barren wasteland containing the most feral and antisocial of pokemon in all of Shan'rala while in the centre, the run down homesteads and former towns that had been devastated a long time ago were dominant. Nothing that Shaymin could do could fully restore the damage that had been done as most of what was once there was now buried under dunes of sand. The north of the desert was where business was done. Where the mercenaries of Shan'rala picked up their contracts and got paid in return. Dirty dealings and fights to the death were common place here as well as some of the shadiest pokemon on this side of Charom. A lot of the jobs on offer required some form of violence, be it a beatdown or a kidnapping. Luckily, the job that was just completed by the pokemon approaching his client needed no savagery at all.

'There you go.' Scizor planted the equipment down on the table with a thud, causing the sawk behind it to jump. 'Not a scratch. Cough up.'

Sawk picked up one of the metal parts and examined it closely, with Scizor tapping the top of the desk impatiently, a small brown bag at his feet. He was standing in the middle of a small street area with a collection of stalls and houses scattered around haphazardly. This was an established area where many mercenaries came to pick up jobs and be rewarded so as one may expect, it was rather well done up. There was a small bar for drinks as well as a convenience store (which mostly sold junk), a water fountain and even a repair shed. It was one of the more tidied up establishments in the desert, which really wasn't saying much.

'This is a type two.' Sawk piped up.

'Huh?'

Sawk held up one of the pieces of metal in his hand.

'This is a type two, I wanted a type three.' he explained as Scizor rolled his eyes. 'My machine won't function as well with this one.'

Scizor sighed and leaned forward, his tall frame casting a shadow over Sawk who buckled slightly.

'Sorry I forgot that Shan'rala was just full of first class items.' Scizor said sarcastically before gesturing behind his shoulder. 'I'll just go over to my secret stash of priceless artifacts and hand them all over will I?'

'That isn't the point.' Sawk blustered, his sweaty hands brushing the other metal parts to the side. 'There are plenty of top notch components to be found in Tanapas you could have searched there!'

'Well you picked the wrong guy for this then.' Scizor leaned closer to his fussy client. 'You realise that I can't really wander about willy-nilly through the streets of Charom without being accosted by drooling stalkers?'

The sweat dropped from Sawks temple and splashed on to his desk.

'Well you ain't getting the full bounty then.' Sawk reached under the table and then produced a small pouch, the sound of the shaking acting like music to Scizor's ears. Sawk tipped the bag and deposited a number of silver coins on to the platform beneath him. Scizor watched with a scowl and counted the pitiful supply.

'That's three quarters.' Scizor looked up at the miserly pokemon before him who shrugged.

'Take it or leave it.' Sawk folded his arms and put his foot down. 'The choice is all yours.'

'Okay then, how about this?' Scizor leaned forward again, propping his elbow down a foot away from Sawk. 'I take half the booty but I also get some other form of bonus.' He nodded over Sawk's shoulder at a bottle of brown liquid perched on a shelf just underneath the tent that covered Sawk's stall.

'Th...that!?' Sawk grabbed hold of the bottle and held it close to his chest as if it was his newborn child. 'This is dear to me! It was a present from my grandfather-'

'And my grandad gave me a slap as a present.' Scizor casually reached out and plucked the bottle from Sawk's grip with a casual flick of the wrist. 'With the quarter of the money you're saving, you could buy another one of these from any old idiot around here. Consider this a bargain.'

Sawk sighed and pushed forward the payment which Scizor scooped up with his free hand, dropping it into his pouch on the ground before picking his bounty up and addressing Sawk with a satisfied smile.

'I would say it was pleasure doing business with you,' Scizor shook the bottle of alcohol almost gloatingly in Sawk's face. 'but that wouldn't exactly be truthful. Finding that second rate shit was rather hard!'

Sawk grunted, looking rather disheveled. Scizor gave another cheeky grin before turning away from the stall, swinging his bag over his shoulder and giving a no look wave at the pokemon he just wrangled. He turned to his left and continued his walk up the desert streets, past the few run down buildings that he would be visiting later for more rewards. I only have one thing in mind, Scizor thought, his bottle swinging merrily in his hand. And that is to enjoy the shit out of this. On the outskirts of the market was a creaky and rusted bench, it's legs on the path to bending and breaking. Awesome, thought Scizor dropping his bag down on the ground and flopping on to his seat, creating creaking and cracking sounds when he made contact. He opened the bottle of booze with his mouth and took a swig from it. The potent contents burned the back of his throat and his stomach but it was ever so satisfying. Scizor kicked back and gazed out at the desert before him. There was nothing visible for miles. Only a pile of rocks was visible in his line of sight. Scizor looked over the map in his mind and came to the conclusion that beyond was even more outposts and markets in the mysterious horizons. Past that were some of the darker dealers in Shan'rala, whose contracts really delved into the most unethical actions known to pokemon. The northern section stretched on until it reached a stretch of 'no mans land' that separated Shan'rala from Rylus Mountain. It had been created due to the peace treaty that had been signed when the war between each region came to a long and bloody end. Now they weren't fighting yet the hostility and regression on either side was palpable with Shan'rala becoming a bearpit for bloodthirsty mercenaries and Rylus turning into a religious extremist organization.

'I wish I could get paid in something as luscious as that.' a familiar nasally voice came from right beside Scizor, causing him to smirk. He held the bottle out to his friend, a quarter of it already consumed.

'Have some.'

'Thanks.' said Excadrill, who gratefully took it and drank. The two mercenaries sat on their seat, feeling the soft sand drift against their solid bodies and reminiscing the days when there was no need to drink away the pain.

'This shit is strong.' Excadrill coughed, lowering the drink and staring at the label. 'You'd have to be nuts to take in all of this!'

'Oh I'm not nuts.' Scizor shrugged his broad shoulders. 'There is a good chance that I'm one of the most sane pokemon in this entire desert.'

Excadrill tutted and wrinkled his snout, the smell of the whiskey putting him off it even more.

'So,' Excadrill wiped his mouth and turned to Scizor. 'how are we?'

'Good as I can be.' Scizor replied, shuffling around and taking the bottle back. 'Reckon I'll be staying here tonight and as soon as dawn breaks I'll be heading north.'

'Aiming high eh?' Excadrill snorted, looking back at the shantytown behind them. 'Not that it means anything to you though.'

'You're dang right.' Scizor smirked, his claw caressing the tip of the bottle. 'It seems so tame now. Today I had to find a collection of scrap metal and believe me, I wanted to kill myself when I was doing it.'

'Those are the easiest jobs in the world for me.' Excadrill drew himself up and puffed out his chest. 'You should come underground some time. There is a whole new experience there just waiting for you.'

Scizor laughed and raised the drink to his mouth again.

'Thanks but no thanks.' he took a large mouthful of whisky, his eyes screwing up as he swallowed before continuing. 'I have my own experiences of the underground and I'd rather not go back.'

'Oh come on.' Excadrill rolled his eyes and folded his arms. 'You gotta realise that it isn't like that at all one bit. At least the parts I know.'

'Even still.' Scizor sighed and stared up at the clear blue sky. 'In my current situation it's best not to revisit memories that might hamper me.'

Excadrill bit his lip and watched as Scizor consumed a rather large amount of the alcohol, contemplating what subjects to bring up to his friend given what was just said. His question was answered as he looked over Scizor's shoulder at what unwelcome visitor was approaching.

'Heads up.' Excadrill nodded before backing off slightly in his seat. Scizor turned round, less than half of his drink remaining and his eyes flashed dangerously at the sight of the pokemon. He was almost identical to Scizor barring a few things. Just like Scizor, he was very handsome due to his rugged and worn out exterior but he seemed a tad more battle weary. One of his eyes was pure white, a faint scar crossing it from the top of his head down to his cheek. He was slightly taller and leaner while Scizor was bulkier in the arms and body. The look the two scizors were giving each other were full of loathing.

'As I live and breath...' the new scizor said, his voice deeper and huskier than the originals. 'The dune shadow himself. Is that what they are really calling you?'

'What do you want, Zayden?' Scizor scowled, gripping his bottle tightly.

'So quick to anger, little brother.' Zayden shook his head, leaning with both arms on the back of the bench. 'I'm guessing being a so-called hero hasn't changed your attitude.'

'Look if you're just here to tell me how rough you have it after finding yourself irrelevant since the war,' Scizor said slowly as both Excadrill and Zayden noticed how quickly Scizor had drank most of the booze. 'then spill it. It's not like I haven't heard it a thousand times before.'

'Just look at yourself.' Zayden shook his head almost pityingly. 'I don't think I've seen anything like it before. Us two were so effective in the war, you were an actual helping hand with saving the fucking country...Now what? Taking second rate jobs to make you forget. It's pathetic.'

'You came here for a fight is that it?' Scizor jumped to his feet, his voice slurring and came right up into Zayden's face. Two eyes against one. Excadrill wanted to help but at the same time was keen to see a little action.

'I didn't come here for a fight. We all know the victor on that front.' Zayden said, his tone surprisingly modest. 'No. I came to give you this.' He handed Scizor a piece of folded paper. 'Give that a view.'

Scizor paused before taking it from his brother with some vigor and unfurled the note, Excadrill appearing beside his shoulder to get a get look. Zayden watched Scizor's unfocused eyes dart down the words covering it with an expression on his face that mixed contempt with curiosity.

'I see.' Scizor looked back up from the contract, appearing fed up in contrast to Excadrill who looked genuinely excited by what he read. 'So why aren't you setting out on this mission yourself?'

'This is teamwork. From a certain point of view.' Zayden explained, folding his arms. 'You go out and do the dirty work to find this energy signature and in the meantime, I take care of the pokemon I want you to bring it to.'

'Oh yeah?' Scizor asked, his legs looking as if they were about to give way. 'And who would that be?'

Zayden tutted and turned his head away ever so slightly.

'How easy you forget, man!' he cried out to the air. 'You must be hitting the bottle hard in this case! Who else do we both know that needs all the help he can get?'

'You fucking idiot.' Scizor was tempted to tear up the contract on the spot. 'What has he done for us in all our lives? Even before the war drove him crazy, before mom died, he was still a selfish and violent moron!'

'He is our father.' Zayden said loudly and proudly. 'Like it or not, it is our duty to help him. You know what, take it or leave it.' He gestured at the contract and scowled at Scizor. 'However, if he succumbs to his illnesses when he doesn't need to then it is all on you.'

Scizor stood where he was, barely containing his fury. Excadrill's excitement had changed to trepidation and confusion as he learned so much about Scizor's family in just a brief moment. Zayden took several steps backwards while still maintaining eye contact with his drunken brother before uttering a final statement, his face turning more solemn.

'If you want to do it for your own superficial gain then do it.' he said, appearing tired. 'But realise you would be doing all of us a huge favour. His life is at stake. Do it for her. For mom.'

With that, Zayden turned and walked away into the sandy distance. Scizor watched with both claws clutched around the corners of the contract, the last few words ringing in his ears and bringing him back to relative sense. He felt a claw on his arm belonging to Excadrill, who seemed as if he was trying to reassure him.

'Maybe you should stay off that stuff.' Excadrill said, nodding at the quarter full bottle of whiskey. 'Get your head straight.'

'I'm fine.' Scizor muttered, folding up the paper and sticking it in his bag.

'Scizor-'

'I said I'm fine!' Scizor snapped at Excadrill, which took the mole aback. He watched as Scizor flopped down on his bench and perched his wrists under his chin, his vision appearing to come back to a relatively normal way. Excadrill paused before sidling over to his friend and gently patting him on the back.

'The underground can wait.' he said, his voice rather hoarse. Scizor looked up at him slowly, his roguish smile breaking out at long last albeit with some difficulty.

'Maybe...' Scizor looked down at his huge claws. '...I suppose I can be a bit more productive.'

'I know it's been tough the past few months.' Excadrill said reassuringly, his metal claw still resting on his friends body. 'I can't imagine what it feels like. Maybe all you need is to get back into the game!'

'You reckon?' Scizor raised his eyes slowly at Excadrill who nodded.

'Yeah! A proper mission!' Excadrill stood to his feet, aiming to gee up Scizor. 'This could provide us with some excitement! And if it doesn't, at least it will grant help to someone you are connected with instead of some loser building his new wanking chariot.'

Scizor gave a roar of laughter at the joke. He had forgotten just how handy Excadrill could be as a voice of positivity even if his jokes sometimes went too far.

'Alright then!' Scizor jumped to his feet. He wobbled slightly, causing Excadrill to throw out his arm just in case. 'Let's do this thing! This supposed energy signature is...' He checked the contract again to clarify. '...East or west?'

'Uh north.' Excadrill looked at Scizor's slightly crossed eyes with some concern. 'Last traced by a sand dune near the Tinuch Springs. We should set off tomorrow.'

'Fuck that.' Scizor made a blowing sound from his cheeks, his intoxication starting to really irritate Excadrill. 'What about right now?'

'Absolutely not.' Excadrill shook his head rapidly. 'We need to wait for next morning. I'm not going out now when there's a gaggle of yamask looking for me after I screwed them over.'

Scizor shrugged his broad scarlet shoulders with a conceited look on his face.

'Suit yourself.'

He then flopped back down on the bench and rolled over on to his front, starting Excadrill with his deceptively quick movement. The bottle of whisky dropped to the ground and tipped, the remains of the alcohol leaking on to the brown sand.

'Night!'

'But it's not even dark yet-'

Excadrill stopped talking as soon as he heard Scizor begin to snore, possibly setting record time for falling asleep. Excadrill lowered his shoulders and stared at his snoozing friend, mixed feelings embedded in his mind. He turned his head to look into the distance to where Zayden had walked off to, curious to what was happening at the springs but also concerned for the well being of the drunk mercenary who had somehow helped save Charom. It was astonishing and rather heartbreaking to see a pokemon as hardy and spirited as Scizor be brought crashing down to such a state. He wondered just what had transpired three months ago to bring about a level of change as significant as this. Well lucky for me I never came with the Shining Beacons when they asked me, thought Excadrill, grunting slightly at his thoughts. Shining Beacons? He remembered something else about the bizarre group of heroes. One of the other pokemon that he had met. A small, plucky yet beautiful rabbit pokemon who Scizor had almost sacrificed himself for. Excadrill stared once more at his friend, some drool now coiling slowly from his mouth, his pupils twitching rapidly as he slept.

'Who knows what you dream of buddy...' Excadrill muttered as the two sat on the bench under the blazing Charom sun.


	4. Chapter Three: The Man In Charge

**Chapter Three: The Man in Charge**

The squadron of oddish dashed through the long swishing grass on a mission to escape the wave set to crash down upon them. The clear blue water lapped up the sides of the cliff overseeing the beautiful Charom ocean where nothing could be spotted in the horizon. As the wind picked up a little and the last oddish managed to evade being engulfed by cold water, the single solitary house in the area stayed as pretty and inviting as it had looked since it was first built. It was quite a contrast to see the cold and wet Lopunny in her brown cloak trudging up the path leading to the quaint little cottage in all its innocence and cleanliness. Lopunny stopped in her tracks to allow a flock of wingull fly past her, much to her irritation, before continuing the chilly walk. Her meeting with Lucina the Primarina still stung slightly but she put it behind her, knowing it was a fraction of the pain she had been through in the past few months. The problem was that the type of pain she experienced while fighting the Clan of Shadows was the odd type of anguish she would like to go through again. If it taught her something new, if it showed her a new way of life. She was itching to embark on another whirlwind adventure, and in the past few hours she believed she had found a reason to. However there were just a few things holding her back... Lopunny couldn't quite articulate what they were but she believed she was going to the right pokemon to help her.

'Are you going to stand there all day then?'

Lopunny woke herself up from her runaway thoughts and realized she had been standing at the bottom step of the cottage for a good number of seconds. She looked up at the sound of the familiar voice and saw a beautiful serpent-like pokemon with a wry smile stretching across her face.

'Sorry!' Lopunny flushed and pulled down her hood, proceeding to shake off her seemingly permanent soggy ears. Milotic giggled as the water sprayed everywhere before allowing Lopunny to trot inside the adorable house and closing the door behind her with her swishing tail.

'How you coping?' asked Milotic as Lopunny hung her cloak up on a nearby hanger and rubbed her eyes at the immaculate state of the old fashioned kitchen and living room.

'Fine I guess.' Lopunny said, gliding her hand over the large pink sofa. Milotic furrowed her eyebrows.

'Do you know me at all, Lopunny?' she asked, noticing the water drip from the soggy hung up cloak on to the carpet. She rested her tail on the patch, slowly absorbing the liquid into her body.

'Huh?'

'Actually let me rephrase that.' Milotic glided over to the middle of the room where Lopunny was standing. 'Do you know anything at all?'

'Why are you-'

'Fine never means fine.' Milotic responded to Lopunny's look of confusion. 'Fine means horrible, terrible or unpleasant sure but never fine.'

Lopunny smirked and hunched her shoulders.

'It's been a funny old day.' Lopunny slumped down on the couch, crossing her slender legs and looking around. 'Where's Sceptile?'

'Collecting supplies from Harfawn.' Milotic told her, dabbing at a speck of dust on the window. 'It's so convenient living in between there and Fayonra Bay.'

'Why didn't you just live in one of those places instead?' Lopunny asked, leaning back and letting her ears dangle over the back of the couch.

'Cos you don't get this view.' Milotic's tone of voice was that of bewilderment as if Lopunny said something completely stupid. 'Besides it's peaceful. The press aren't on our asses as much.'

'Oh yeah.' Lopunny rolled her eyes. 'Tell me about it.'

Milotic pulled a sympathetic face.

'Were they bothering you today?'

'I don't let it faze me usually.' Lopunny said loudly as Milotic moved round to the kitchen and picked up a kettle that had been simmering for some time. 'Just today was a little different.'

'Tell me dear.' Milotic said kindly, her tail presenting a mug of tea in front of Lopunny's face which she took. 'Who was getting to you?'

'Just this awful snobby primarina who's ego is through the roof.' said Lopunny, taking a sip. 'She was brought in as my replacement when I quit my company but she couldn't be more different from me.'

'There's no one like you, Lopunny.' Milotic smiled with the ever present twinkle in her eye. 'I wouldn't get so wound up about it.'

Lopunny shook her head.

'It isn't just that.'

She took another sip before placing the cup of tea down on the floor. Milotic observed Lopunny prop her head on her hand and scratch one of her long ears, her expression unreadable.

'I have a new quest lined up.'

'You do?' Milotic was curious.

'Yup.' Lopunny said, still staring into space. 'The thing is... It's at Shan'rala.'

Milotic squinted her eyes slightly as she took a sip of tea, looking rather critical.

'Yes..?' she asked, her tone questioning. Lopunny sighed, knowing that Milotic knew what the problem was.

'It's interesting now that I can handle most pokemon that come at me nowadays. So I look forward to that as a test.' Lopunny said, now looking down at the carpet. 'But the one that poses the biggest threat to me is the one that I care about the most.'

'Isn't that just men in general?' Milotic tried to make her laugh but nothing was working. She then leaned forward, her caring expression more present than ever. 'Lopunny, the desert is huge. The chance you'll run into Scizor is incredibly small. You're more likely to run into a shiny pokemon.'

'What if I just end up looking for him?' Lopunny cried out, flinging her arms forward. 'Ugh what is wrong with me, I sound like a teenager.'

'Look if you want my honest opinion,' Milotic said, her expression flip-flopping from kindly to shrewd constantly. 'he's fucked everything up and he was never worth it to begin with.'

'How can you say that?'

'Well bear in mind that when you first met, his intentions were to basically hand you in to someone who might have killed you.' Milotic reminded Lopunny in a matter-of-fact tone.

'Yeah but-'

'And that he was an arrogant, testosterone filled thug who tried to bully Sceptile and was hostile to the dragons at every point.'

'Yeah he was flaws, I'm aware of that.' Lopunny sighed, rubbing her hands over her ears. 'Milotic, you sounded like you never even liked him.'

'That's cos I didn't.' Milotic said curtly. Lopunny's eyes expanded to the size of tennis balls. 'I put up with him. There's a difference.'

'Oh come on.' Lopunny was getting slightly agitated now. 'There wasn't a moment when you thought he would come good?'

Milotic opened her mouth as if she was going to retort before closing it again, her eyes darting down to the carpet. Lopunny sipped from her cup again, waiting for a response, pondering this reaction.

'...If he stayed with us the moment it was over then I would have forgave him.' Milotic eventually said, looking back up at her friend. 'If he put things behind him and just grew the hell up. Maybe I could have found it in my heart to make amends.' Milotic sighed deeply, the rain tapping against the window and creating a cosy yet melancholy atmosphere. 'But it was not to be.'

Lopunny ran her fingers through her damp ears, her expression blank but her mind racing. Wonder who else was glad to see the back of Scizor? Was Milotic the only one who thought ill of the mercenary? What did Sceptile really think in the end? Or even Charizard? Lopunny pursed her lips and rested her cup on the table ahead of her.

'...You don't know.' Lopunny murmured, her hands moving from her ears to her mouth.

'Excuse me?'

'I said you don't know.' Lopunny looked up at Milotic sharply, a little bit of bite to her voice. Milotic blinked for a second longer than usual.

'Do I not?' Milotic raised one eyebrow, calculating the situation. Lopunny shook her head and stood up.

'He did change. He did grow up.' She walked over to the window and observed the slow cascade outside, the setting looking uncannily similar to the unpleasant moment she accidentally found out what Scizor's true intentions were. 'There was a time when I thought he was just some brash brawler who was only out for himself. No I didn't think that, I knew that. Everyone did. But he changed. He looked out for others, he became more considering.'

'Yes to you but-'

'But to someone!' Lopunny turned sharply to correct Milotic. 'I made him better. That's something meaningful to me.'

'You shouldn't find meaning in trying to make some guy happy.' Milotic shook her head.

'Then why did you get together with Sceptile?' Lopunny folded her arms, her left foot tapping.

'I don't understand, why would I...' Milotic looked flustered as if thinking of things to say. 'I didn't fix him though. We just...clicked as we are.'

'So you achieved nothing in the duration of time you got to know each other?'

'You are putting words in my mouth.' Milotic's voice had become more dangerous as the conversation became more heated but she managed to catch her next sentence. She paused while taking a deep breath, as if realizing how much less agreeable both of them had become. 'Look...I just don't want you getting hurt.'

'I can push past anything now.' Lopunny said in a more relaxed tone, not wanting any friction between her and Milotic. 'I know I can. I'm so much better now, you know that.'

'You were already wonderful.' Milotic smiled warmly, her beauty seemingly rendering the rain outside obsolete. 'Ultimately, I don't think it will be productive looking for him in that place. He's had his time. I appreciate what he's done for you even if I don't like him as a pokemon. However, it's your choice.'

Lopunny nodded, the intensity of the scene dying with a flicker.

'This is a mission first and foremost.' Lopunny explained, putting her hands on her hips. 'That is the main priority. Anything beyond that is just a...' She waved her hand about, trying to look for a word.

'Bonus?' Milotic helped her.

'Yeah I suppose.'

The both of them laughed, Milotic's tinkering while Lopunny with a little giggle.

'I'm proud of you.' Milotic said, extending her tail for Lopunny to hold. 'I feel like you can achieve whatever you can set your mind to. You can touch the sky.'

'Thank you but...' Lopunny rolled her shoulders looking bemused. 'I can't fly.'

They both rolled their eyes at the lame joke. Milotic brushed her locks to the side and produced a mischievous smile.

'Neither can Scizor.' she said, visibly holding back a barrage of laughing. 'Maybe that's why he's gone. Cause he can't get it up.'

The two of them burst out into hysterical laughter, Milotic almost spilling her tea and Lopunny needing to balance against the window for support. They felt as if the noise they were making could be heard all throughout the forest, sending bugs and birds flying panic-stricken out of their safe trees. Their laughter was so loud that neither of them noticed the door open to a baffled looking green gecko clutching bags full of miscellaneous goods.

'What the-' Sceptile was looking back and forth with an absolutely bewildered expression at the two women who were still cackling maniacally and pointing at his confusion. Each time they tried to explain, the laughing just continued until Sceptile couldn't help but begin his own mirth. The three survivors of Shan'rala laughed all the way into the evening, protected and content as they like while the fourth one wrestled with his own mind in the lonely desert...

* * *

CLANG!

Sparks flew up as the hammer hit the metal plate. The engineer finished striking the slab, removing his goggles before looking up at a rather prudish looking inspector who gave a curt nod before jotting something down on a notepad. The metal was carefully lifted by multiple pokemon on to a conveyor belt before it was carried away into a gaping hole in the charcoal black wall, looking a lot like a furnace. The entire factory was churning and billowing toxins everywhere, the very air turned to a smog. It was an atmosphere so disgusting that the workers primarily consisted of koffings, grimers and the hardiest rock and fighting pokemon who were that desperate for a job. Many were seen lifting and carefully placing dangerous looking missiles and explosives into boxes before being settled on to rickety shelves that really looked like a safety hazard. The huge hall was very dimly lit with the majority of the light produced by the roaring fires and volatile sparks soaring around from place to place. It really was no wonder that there was a board hanging from the ceiling that read 'three days since last serious incident'.

'Oh!'

A zubat messenger narrowly avoided a whirling vortex of dust as he fluttered up to a glass window leading to an office-like room. It was by far the cleanest place in the entire factory and the most distant from any danger. Zubat tapped on the window repeatedly, trying to alert the hunched figure inside who was talking into his communicator in a gruff and demanding voice.

'Sir!' Zubat shouted, hoping to receive his attention. 'Mr Hoodwink!'

The pokemon twisted round, looking disgruntled and his eyes rolling upon catching sight of his persistent messenger. He slicked back his red mohawk with his right hand and hitched up his trouser-like skin in an attempt to look more composed.

'One second. I need to take this.' Hoodwink's effort to appear patient backfired with the constantly grumpy and threatening voice he had. Zubat waited while dodging stray sparks as the scrafty continued to pester his client on his communicator.

'No I have a better idea.' he snarled into the device, pressing his hands down on his table hard. 'The next time a truckload of your shit is destined towards Giruphin, why don't you order them to take a sharp turn left and drive them straight into Lady Froslass's fucking snow castle. At least then you'll be able to demonstrate some effectiveness.'

He smacked his hand hard on the off button and let out a large sigh. Zubat watched with baited breath as Hoodwink spun round on his heels, again trying to look composed yet seeming as if doing so was giving him deep pain.

'Yeah what is it?' he asked, sliding a small panel on the window and allowing Zubat inside his office.

'Mr Hoodwink...' Zubat croaked, his voice hoarse from the exposure to rusty air. 'You got visitors.'

'Visitors?' Hoodwink hitched up his trousers and puffed out his chest. 'Did you tell them that I'm extremely busy in trying to avoid strangers and outsiders at the moment?'

'Of course sir!'

'Then why,' Hoodwink advanced towards Zubat dangerously, causing him to shrink down slightly. 'are you bothering me with such irrelevant matters?'

'I think you'd be wise to listen up here.' A voice rang out from behind them. Hoodwink clenched his fists slightly and waved Zubat off, who did what he was told and returned to his field of work, his wings shaky. Hoodwink brushed off his shoulders and assumed his look of composure, twirling round to confront his new clients.

'How did you get in?' Hoodwink asked, approaching the two ruffians.

'We can be persuasive.' Nidoqueen smiled, looking more like a leer. 'As you will soon find out.'

Hoodwink laughed a gravelly chuckle. He reached over to his desk with both hands, grabbing a bottle and a glass. Nidoqueen and Bisharp watched as Hoodwink poured himself a drink, still laughing to himself.

'Really?' he smirked, stirring the beverage. He then paused for a second, scrutinizing their appearances. 'Wait... Do I recognize you?'

'You might.' Bisharp tilted his head, analyzing potential hazards in the room that Hoodwink could use as weapons. 'You know who recognizes all three of us though? The authorities of Charom.'

'Every single one.' Nidoqueen stepped towards Hoodwink with her arms out. 'You might think you're safe in Shan'rala but trust me, this new mayor of Giruphin is going to make it his business to crack down on you hard.'

'Funny that.' Hoodwink sipped from his glass and leaned on the back of his chair. 'He hasn't done a great job yet.'

'I know this guy,' Bisharp scowled. 'and believe me, he's coming for all of us and when he does, there won't be any mercy.' He pointed at the cracks around his chest. 'I got off light... Oh no, I sound like I'm giving him too much credit.'

Hoodwink raised his eyebrow, amused at the sheer bitterness of Bisharp but still wary of the threat of Mayor Gallade.

'So what is it you want? A job here?' Hoodwink looked down his window at the organized chaos on the ground floor. 'Lucky. We've been looking for a few workers to replace some recent departures.'

'Why would I want a job down there?' Nidoqueen tutted, coming up next to Hoodwink and staring in distaste at the car crash of a factory.

'You're right, women are better to stay away from this type of thing.' replied the scrafty. 'Only one woman has ever worked here and within two days...' He mimed clapping his hands together and made a squelching noise with his hands. 'That was some mess we had to clean up.'

'Excuse me!?' Nidoqueen's nostrils flared but Bisharp intervened.

'Our skills will be of better use to you out there in the field.' he pointed out, coming up in between the two of them. 'I can guarantee you we'll be the most efficient units at your disposal.'

Hoodwink let out another wheezy laugh.

'Hate to disappoint you buddy but I can hire the most skilled mercenaries of the desert at any time.' He said, his smugness slowly boiling Nidoqueen's blood to the heat of the nearby furnace. 'What can you do that they can't?'

'They probably wouldn't be able to save every single one of your workers from a freak accident in a few seconds.' Bisharp said dryly, his eyes fixed on something going on in the workplace.

'What are you talking about?'

Bisharp gave a curt nod to the supposed problem, leading both Hoodwink and Nidoqueen to peer into the distance. Three pokemon were pushing a large box full of obvious and active looking explosives across the floor while up above them, a flying pokemon was having trouble carrying a tray of metal sheets, every moment looking more and more likely that it was going to fall and land on the bombs. Quick as a flash however, Bisharp swiped a hidden blade from under his foot and launched it straight through the open window. Hoodwink let out a squeak and put his hands to his mouth while Nidoqueen curled her lip in a satisfied grin. They all watched as the blade whizzed through the air and the flying pokemon lost control of his contents, the metal sheets all heading straight towards the screaming workers. Bisharp's hurled weapon pierced straight through all five sheets and pinned them against the wall, just feet from landing on the bombs and engulfing the whole place in fire. There were gasps and whoops from workers as they all stared up to see who had just saved the lives of hundreds of pokemon.

'Oh my...' Hoodwink could not believe it. He rubbed his hand slowly through his mohawk and seemed to stare blankly into thin air for a few seconds before shaking himself out of his stupor. '...That was nuts! Wow you just saved me thousands!'

'And saved your employees?' Nidoqueen scowled at him.

'Well yeah like I said you saved me thousands.' Hoodwink shrugged, speaking quickly to avoid another death stare from Nidoqueen. 'So I see your skills have proven me otherwise. I could use someone like you two. Welcome aboard!'

Hoodwink extended his arm for each of them to shake which they did, Nidoqueen doing so much more reluctantly. When the deed was done, Hoodwink flopped down in his revolving seat and plucked two more glasses from his drawers.

'How about a toast?'

'We're good.' Bisharp shook his head. 'We can get to work immediately.'

Hoodwink paused before shrugging his shoulders and pouring himself another dram.

'Someone's keen.' he muttered, checking out the brown liquid inside his glass. While he was taking measurements, Nidoqueen turned her head to Bisharp's.

'How do we not know he won't rip us off?' she whispered.

'Remember we're not doing this for financial benefits.' Bisharp said, one eye fixed on Hoodwink's every move. 'We just need to get these tasks done quickly and efficiently.'

'Even still,' Nidoqueen pressed her hands on her hips. 'he's not too bright. Doesn't know who we are.'

'That's exactly why he is perfect.' Bisharp explained. Hoodwink seemed to perk up slightly once he had finished his examination.

'What's that?'

'We were just saying,' Nidoqueen stepped in Bisharp's way. 'that our services do not come with a cost of money.'

'Well that's a relief.' Hoodwink wiped his forehead in a fake and patronizing fashion.

'Instead we want something else as payment for retrieving your stuff.'

Hoodwink slowly lowered his hand from his head.

'Really?' he asked, his eyes darting between the two. 'What would that be?'

'Well here is the deal, Scrafty...' Nidoqueen started off but said pokemon cut across her.

'Call me Hoodwink.'

'No.' Nidoqueen responded bluntly before carrying on. 'We provide you with whatever you want and the only thing we want in return is a say in what is done with finished product.'

Hoodwink continued to look rather shifty while sat down. He smoothed out his mohawk again before leaning forward, his index fingers rubbing against each other.

'Why?'

'All in due time.' Nidoqueen replied, waving her hand. 'Trust me when I say this though. Our plans are going to make you a very rich individual.'

'Through largely immoral actions?' Hoodwink folded his arms and leaned back again. Nidoqueen and Bisharp looked at each other with puzzled expressions before a wheezy laugh brought them back to senses. 'Ha! I'm just kidding, I don't give a fuck what you do.'

'Well...okay.' Nidoqueen scratched her head while Bisharp kept his face as expressionless as possible. 'So will we get started soon?'

'Whatever you like.' Hoodwink shrugged, smiling. 'First, I gotta link you up with the other operatives in the field. We have a few active as we speak looking for some weird shit in the desert. Best to get you guys talking.' He pointed to the door. 'If you go downstairs, there's a spearow who can supply you with their communicator code.'

'Thank you.' Bisharp gave a nod at him while Nidoqueen furled her brow.

'We're happy to do business with you.' The lie was evident in Nidoqueen's tone and expression. She and Bisharp turned and walked towards the door, leaving Hoodwink with a satisfied smile.

'I look forward to the work we're going to do.' he called out as the two former clan pokemon left through the door. He waited until it swung shut, leaving him the only one left in the dingy office. Hoodwink listened for when their footsteps would start dropping, implying that Bisharp and Nidoqueen had gone downstairs. With that, Hoodwink rolled round in his chair and tapped a button on his communicator. His expression had changed from smarmy to somewhat serious as he listened to the beep of the device and then a voice ring out.

'Yes sir?'

'Sandshrew, I need you to do something.' Hoodwink leaned forward, grabbing a pen and some sheets of paper. 'Grab a couple of mates and go through the newspaper bins.'

'What for?' the voice on the other side was puzzled. Hoodwink narrowed his eyes and looked back at the door.

'Cos I think the infamous want to share their power.'

* * *

Nidoqueen was holding Bisharp up by her constant glances back up the stairs, her mind racing and her mood foul.

'What are you doing?' Bisharp asked, rolling his eyes.

'I can see this really going to shit because of him.' Nidoqueen pointed upwards, indicating their new business partner. 'He seems lazy and incompetent, as well as a chauvinist pig.'

'It's hardly the worst pokemon we've worked with.' Bisharp sighed, folding his arms. The two of them stood outside a door with a board that read 'spearow' as well as crude drawing of a body part underneath the writing.

'We travelled all the way to the north of Shan'rala to strike a deal with an apparent moron.' Nidoqueen explained, coming face to face with Bisharp. 'Say what you want about the clan pokemon...'

'Keep it down!' Bisharp hissed, his head twisting quickly between the door and the stairs. 'He might not have a clue who we are but we still don't know what any of these pokemons reactions would be if they found out. Remember the plan.'

Nidoqueen snorted. Bisharp kept staring at her with a look of disgust as if she was an overgrown child.

'Oh lighten up.'

The remark from Bisharp of all pokemon took Nidoqueen completely offguard.

'You? Telling me to lighten up?' she scoffed, pointing at him. 'I don't think I've ever seen you smile the whole time I've known you.'

'It's not a coincedince that I don't tend to smile when you're around.' The unexpected sass that Bisharp was throwing continued to baffle and enrage Nidoqueen.

'What has happened to you?' She lowered her voice to an almost-hiss. 'You were once a true soldier. If anyone gave you shit you'd show no mercy to them. You would have calculated the situation and sussed him out if he was up to any mischief, and when I find out that he's up to mischief then both of you are going to pay.'

Bisharp stayed silent, his eyes staring unblinkingly into Nidoqueen's. There was a tension in the air that had been a recurring mood for the past three months. While accomplishing the feat of evading the Charom authorities with skill and composure, Bisharp's stiltedness really clashed with Nidoqueen's fiery personality. This often lead to a battle of wits and ideals that ended up making sense of the fact it took them this long to formulate a plan of any kind.

'So,' Nidoqueen turned away from Bisharp to face the door to receive more information. 'we going to get this over with?'

Bisharp nodded, watching Nidoqueen advance to the door and thinking of how soon the end result of their grand plan would come. He thought back to a few minutes ago when he had saved those workers from the workplace accident and how that would be the last time he did anything for anyone ever again.


	5. Chapter Four: Fateful Findings

**Chapter Four: Fateful Findings**

'Oi!'

There was no response apart from the guttural snoring emerging from Scizor's drooling mouth. Excadrill waited a few seconds and tapped his foot impatiently before trying again.

'Wake up!' he raised his voice even louder but still to no avail. Scizor was sound asleep, still on his bench and looking a far cry from the pokemon he was a few months before. Excadrill shook his head in exasperation, knowing he would have to bring up his contingency plan. He dashed over to the nearby water fountain and filled up his flask to the brim, splashing some on his cheek while he was at it. Wasn't the coldest but it would do. Excadrill ran back over to his comatose friend and shook his container from side to side.

'Wakey wakey!'

In a swift motion, he dowsed Scizor's face with the water, causing him to bolt upright and actually physically swing at whoever he thought was in front of him.

'I'll fight you-'

Scizor had gone through such a drastic range of emotions in a matter of seconds. From alarmed to enraged then screwing up his eyes in pain. He slumped back down and clutched his soaking forehead.

'I feel like there's something eating my brain.'

'Yeah I figured.' Excadrill slyly kicked Scizor's used whiskey bottle under the bench so he wouldn't grab it. 'Come on. We got to go.'

'Where?'

'Remember the not so pleasant discussion you had with your brother last night?' Excadrill moaned, flinging his arms out to the side. 'About the apparent energy signature or something?'

'Mate I am in no fit state to even comprehend what those words mean right now.' Scizor shook his head, the combination of blazing sun and searing pain cooking his brain. 'Just give me a minute, I'll be grand.'

'The sooner we move the better.' Excadrill muttered as Scizor stretched his body and yawned very loudly. 'Tinuch springs will be mobbed soon.'

'Oh yeah!' Scizor finally seemed to inject some energy into his voice at this statement. 'Plenty of water there! I think I'll be fine when I get there.'

'You're just thinking about yourself here?' Excadrill tilted his head, watching Scizor stagger to his feet, his eyes blinking rapidly.

'Just saying,' Scizor clapped his friend on the broad shoulders. 'I can have a nice drink while you scour the spring for whatever it is we're chasing.'

'You lazy prick!' Excadrill laughed. 'Only if it means I get more than half the booty. This is all on you, you realize?'

Scizor shrugged his shoulders.

'Should be fun.' he said. 'I reckon once I've had my fix of water I can...' Scizor stopped talking, his face beginning to look queasy.

'Uh...' Excadrill took a step back from Scizor in apprehension. 'What are you..?'

Scizor continued to turn more green, sweat beginning to drip a little from his forehead. After about ten seconds of painful silence and rocking back and forth, Scizor finally let out a huge breath before turning to Excadrill grinning.

'Sorry...' he smiled dolefully. 'Managed to suppress any sick I may have had.'

'Charming.' Excadrill replied flatly. 'Anyway, shake yourself off. We gotta go to the-'

Another interruption brought the awkward conversation to a halt. They could hear shouting and yelling along with rapid footsteps coming from multiple pokemon. Scizor attempted to use his considerable frame to peer over the top of the buildings to see what was causing such a ruckus.

'Get him!' an aggressive voice bellowed followed by an underwhelming shout back.

'Stay away p-please!'

'Are they chasing a kid?' Excadrill asked, perplexed.

'This I gotta see.' Scizor laughed to himself. Turns out they didn't need to move very far to get front row seats for the shenanigans at hand. Whatever was being pursued flew out of a gap between two small and run down old shacks, his unsteady feet tripping over the unseen rocks buried in the sand. The sight of him caused Scizor and Excadrill's eyes to fly wide open.

'What the fuck?' they both said loudly. The weird looking blue pokemon whimpered yet steadied himself, lowering his head and showing off a large horn.

'Back off!' he yelled, his voice distractingly young and inexperienced sounding. 'I...mean it! I do mean it!'

'Yeah sure you do.' Scizor replied sarcastically, still swaying on his feet and eyeing this thing with curiosity.

'Scizor! Look!' Excadrill jabbed him in the shoulder and pointed. 'Coming off of his leg!'

Scizor tried to focus his googly eyes on wherever Excadrill was pointing at. A sort of wispy blue smoke was emanating from the pokemons leg where there was an open cut.

'Blue energy signature?' Excadrill speculated. Scizor's eyes widened. 'It has to be.'

'Well this makes our job easier.' Scizor smiled. He stepped forward confidently with Excadrill doing the same a moment later. 'Right little guy, we can do this the easy way or the... hard way.' Scizor shook his head again, trying to regain focus. 'Now if you're smart you should pick the easy way but if you are actually serious about your defence you should-'

Then it happened. Before he finished his sentence, Scizor heaved his upper body forward and sprayed out a cascade of sick straight downwards on to Excadrill's foot.

'What the fuck!' Excadrill shrieked, jumping backwards and suspending his leg in the air, attempting to shake off the foul substance. 'What is wrong with you!?'

'...Sorry.' Scizor wheezed, saliva dripping from his mouth. 'Was trying to fight it.'

'You're actually a moron.' Excadrill was still trying to keep his own leg as far away as possible from his body. 'Look what you've done! Clean that up!'

'I didn't mean it!' Scizor gasped, staring into space. 'It's gonna be fine. Relax.'

'How is this fine!?' Excadrill screamed, shaking off the drippy parts of the orange liquid. The two squabbling pokemon were so preoccupied with each others predicament that the strange blue creature who was being hunted was literally considering the options of running for his life or continually watch these two idiots argue. The answer came to him only seconds later.

'There he is!'

The bickering came to a halt as Scizor and Excadrill turned to see two nasty looking pokemon burst through the alleyway that the previous pokemon came through. A Scolipede and a Krookodile, some mean customers indeed.

'What are you waiting for?' Krookodile roared, pointing at their pray. 'Get him!'

'Look!' Scolipede nodded to her left at Scizor and Excadrill. 'It's him.'

'Yeah I'm a hero I know.' Scizor said, trying to look tough but still drooling all over the sand. 'Now get away from him before I knock you...'

BLEEEEGH!

Scizor was sick again, this time more violently and a more disgusting shade of orange.

'For crying out loud!' Excadrill wailed, every urge of his strength being used to restrain himself from skelping Scizor around the head.

'Why is he here?' Scolipede hissed, scrutinising them both.

'It doesn't matter!' Krookodile yelled, his impatience matching Excadrill's. 'Quick! He's getting away!'

They both twisted their bodies just in time to see their bounty flee the scene, bounding away as gallantly as he could while still releasing the odd blue flumes. Quick as a flash, Krookodile and Scolipede began charging directly after the steam releasing pokemon while the other two potential gatherers continued their argument.

'I can't believe this!' Excadrill moaned as Scizor gasped for breath, his hands on his knees. 'Look how far behind we're gonna be!'

'Ah it's useless.' Scizor rubbed his forehead, clearly prioritizing his pain over any other dilemma. 'They're miles away now. We have no leads. Let's go back to sleep.'

'Well no we do have a lead.' Excadrill pointed at the blue smoke trail. 'We follow that! As long as that pokemon is still injured its still gonna leave that steam stuff.'

'Aw shit.' Scizor groaned before seeing the look on Excadrill's face. 'Uh I mean well observed Excadrill! Let's...go.'

Scizor slumped his shoulders slightly and started walking as briskly as possible after the hunters and prey.

'What is the matter with you?' Excadrill tried to lighten both their moods up with what he thought was a playfully exasperated tone. They both began to pick up the pace while watching the three ahead of them get smaller in the distance, Scizor looking like every step was dealing him more pain.

'Follow me!' Excadrill raised his arm and plunged it into the sand, pulling his entire body down into the underground. Scizor watched with bleary eyes as the earth churned up where Excadrill was heading.

'Wait for me!' Scizor yelped, shaking his head and trying to focus. His long legs stretched even further as the intensity of the situation began to really dawn on him. Despite the pain in his head and the disgusting taste in his mouth, he was not breaking his stride, his speed increasing by the second until he and the burrowing Excadrill were moving at the same rhythm. The cool air of the morning rushing through Scizor's face seemed like the perfect cure for this horrible hangover. For now at least...

* * *

The wind whirled through the silent wasteland, casting a rare chill in the daylight. A new day had set over the Shan'rala desert, the burning sun setting the sand underneath into a dazzling shine. There was no life in sight for miles. The remnants of pokemon who had passed on a long time ago lay buried under heaps of earth and stone, although a few white bones lay scattered throughout. The light was extremely beautiful and giving the former war zone too much visual credit for the bloodbath it had played host to. Apart from the breeze, there was no sound... Nothing. You could hear a drop of water hit the ground for miles albeit unlikely that this place had seen a water type pokemon in forever. The deafening silence and lack of movement was suddenly broken by the patting of small feet. Rapid patting and heavy breathing. Over the sand tune ran the small blue pokemon, sweat dripping from his horned head and his eyes darting behind him frantically. He attempted to skid to a halt but his hoof slid straight downwards off a surprisingly sharp drop on the sand dune. The pokemons legs flailed in an effort to keep standing but despite his best efforts and due to a leg injury hampering him, he tumbled down. He yelped and spluttered as sand engulfed his rolling body, his limbs whipping rapidly until he crashed in a heap beside the skeleton of a large reptilian pokemon. Dazed, he shook his head to get the sand out of his vision and blinked rapidly in order to block out the blinding sun. The pokemons senses had taken a pounding from the few minutes of chaos he had just endured so he was trying to get his bearings back as quickly as he could. Behind where he had fallen, a faint blue mist seemed to have emerged from the wound in his front left leg.

'Hello there!' an exhausted sounding voice rang out. The pokemon spun to his left, his heart racing. Just leave me alone please, he thought. This day can't get any worse with more folk chasing me!

'Hey little guy!'

The voice echoed again, coming across as obviously female and it's location becoming more apparent. She had seemed to have recovered her breath. The blue pokemon craned his neck to see who had shouted in the near-distance. This newcomer was walking calmly over, her appearance obscured by the brown cloak covering her body. The mysterious pokemon took a few anxious steps backwards, the speed of his movement matched by the stranger.

'Hey I'm not going to hurt you.' the pokemon said, removing her facial concealment and allowing him to see her kind face. Lopunny put her hands up in the air when she noticed the odd little horse's nervous state.

'I'm not gonna hurt you. Calm down.' she slowly approached him, her feet now used to the boiling heat of the sand. She continued her 'hands up' method, showing off a sincere smile yet careful not to overdo the kindness in case it became unbelievable. There was quiet again as Lopunny attempted to demonstrate her friendliness through her body language while the enigma continued to look back and forth at her and his right hand side.

'What's your name?'

No response. Lopunny was expecting that. Her eyes scanned the peculiar anatomy of her new friend. She had never seen anything like him before. His cream coloured body was largely covered in shiny blue fur while on his head lay a fiery red mane. Below that on his forehead stuck out a gleaming horn, which made Lopunny apprehensive of what damage he was capable of. Lopunny's eyes slowly traveled down to the injury on his leg then followed the trail of blue mist that was slowly fading from the air.

'I can help clean that up.' Lopunny said, pointing at the injury. 'I'm here to help. This isn't a great place to be if you're lost but if you trust me then maybe you can tell me what the problem is and we can try escaping together.'

More seconds of quiet passed as the two pokemon looked at each other. Lopunny's expression was a mixture of generosity and willingness, genuinely hoping that the little thing would believe her.

'...Keldeo.' A little murmur came from the horse's mouth, his feet shuffling nervously and his nasty cut continuing to emit little smoke particles.

'Keldeo?' Lopunny tried to establish a thought to where she knew that name but couldn't find any. 'Okay I've never heard of that before but trust me, I am used to seeing unusual things at this point. I'm Lopunny.' She smiled warmly again before kneeling down on her left knee. 'Can I see your leg?'

Keldeo looked over his back again, his breathing shaky before turning over to Lopunny, his whole frame limp and disrupted from the events.

'Please?' Lopunny beckoned with her left hand, her right reaching into the pocket in her cloak and pulling out a tiny bottle of green liquid. Keldeo hesitated, eyeing the beautiful face of Lopunny and her twinkling eyes. _Wow_ , Keldeo thought. I mean wow. _Now I have a good look at her. She is... extraordinary._

'I'm a bit...you know...' Keldeo pawed the sand with a shy expression. '...Nervous.'

'I understand.' Lopunny said, approaching Keldeo closer. 'I can see you've been through a big deal. That could leave anyone rattled.'

'It's not that.' Keldeo said, his face breaking into a half smile. 'It's just you're...you're...'

Suddenly, voices started yelling from up above. Lopunny and Keldeo turned to see more sand and rocks fall down into the little pit that they were hidden in. This could only mean one thing; someone was here.

'Friends of yours?' Lopunny looked down at Keldeo before giving a cheeky wink which sent Keldeo's stomach whirling with butterflies. 'Get behind me.'

'Yes ma'am.' Keldeo whispered, his voice breaking. He stumbled behind Lopunny in order to hide himself from the two mercenaries who had made themselves present at the top of the dune.

'We can see you!' Krookodile roared, pointing downwards. 'Again the smoke shit gives it away.'

'Leave.' Lopunny called out, feeling Keldeo's quick breath on her back. 'Go find another mission that doesn't involve trying to fuck with innocent pokemon.'

'Go home lady.' Krookodile skidded down the small hill, followed by Scolipede. 'This place ain't safe for you and it's gonna get a whole lot more dangerous for you if you don't hand that pokemon over.'

Lopunny smirked. She reached over to her opposite shoulder and gave a casual flick, allowing her cloak to fall off and reveal who she really was.

'I don't think so.'

Krookodile's eyes widened in shock while Scolipede hissed. Keldeo's heart skipped a beat and he actually almost tried to jump out of his protective spot to get a better look at this exotic beauty putting herself on the line for him.

'No way...' Scolipede was bewildered. 'We run into him then we run into her?'

'You couldn't write this!' Krookodile exclaimed, cracking his knuckles.

'You gonna keep talking?' Lopunny braced herself and gave them both a steely smirk. 'Or are you gonna provide something worthwhile?'

The two mercenaries growled menacingly. Keldeo's fear was evaporating so quickly due to the inspirational courage seeping from Lopunny's slight frame in front of such nasty customers.

'I don't care if you're a girl...' Krookodile rumbled, his claws extending sharply. 'I'm gonna rip your-'

'Again what's with that mentality?' Lopunny dropped her shoulders and started speaking with an exasperated tone. 'You have any idea how many fights I've had to cancel cos that's been said?'

'She does have a point.' Scolipede looked at Krookodile. 'You saying that only I'm allowed to fight her?'

'I'm not...No! Why...' Krookodile was now very flustered, his eyes darting from woman to woman. 'Look can we just get to the fight already!?'

'Yeah agreed.' Lopunny rolled her eyes and held her fists up again. 'Bring it on.'

There was then a rumble coming from behind Lopunny and Keldeo, forcing yet another interruption on the conflict zone. Lopunny clenched her fists in irritation and nudged Keldeo with her ball shaped tail, actually causing Keldeo to yelp.

'What's going on behind us?

'Uhhh...' Keldeo turned round as Lopunny stood facing Krookodile and Scolipede who were both wary of whatever was shaking the earth. 'Nothing...But it sounds like it's getting near us.'

'It sounds like a vehicle.' Lopunny grimaced, her large ears picking up it up more in the distance. 'More of your mercenary buddies?'

'Could be your mercenary buddy.' Scolipede said, her guttural voice antagonizing. 'He's in quite the state, he is probably making that noise.'

'My-' Lopunny realised who she was talking about and her nostrils flared. 'You just crossed a line, bitch.'

Lopunny was about to storm up to them and initiate the first and last blow before Keldeo hooked his hoof around her leg tight, almost tripping her up.

'Lady Lopunny!' he cried out. 'Duck!'

Lopunny instantly dropped to the ground as Keldeo clambered over her, his horn facing the enemies. A small protective shield began to materialize over both their heads as a huge shadow cast over all four of them. Krookodile and Scolipede's eyes widened in horror at whatever was heading right towards them.

'Fall back!' Krookodile shouted, turning and attempting to scramble up the hill. Before Lopunny could even comprehend what it was that was heading their way, the huge object crashed down on top of the protective shield and shattered it. Then everything went black.

* * *

'This way.' Excadrill was peering through the slight sandstorm that was brewing up. 'The blue. It's a bit faint but it is over there. See it?'

'Thats the sky mate.' Scizor moaned, trudging behind him.

'No you idiot!' Excadrill turned to Scizor, his temper building. 'Knowing you, I think you're just deliberately doing this to wind me up.'

'Aw yeah that's what it is.' Scizor replied snarkily. 'I intentionally threw up on your foot and let two mercs fuck off with our bounty just cos it might tick you off a little. Fuck off.'

Excadrill snorted and turned back in the direction of the steam trail.

'What do you think that pokemon was?'

'No idea.' Scizor said, wiping saliva off his shoulder. 'Looked like a water type.'

'Cos it was blue?'

'No because it went and told me.' Scizor threw another sarcastic retort in Excadrill's way. 'Yes because it was blue. It's a reasonable assumption to make. Name one water pokemon that isn't blue.'

'Oh you know... Magikarp, Kingler, Octillery...' Excadrill riffed them off on his clawed fingers. 'Your mate Milotic if I recall.'

'Alright I said one.' Scizor said grumpily. Excadrill laughed before pointing ahead.

'It seems to stop over there.' He peered even closer, his eyes screwing up tightly. 'These eyes are made for tunnels not this shit.'

Scizor took a step closer and looked around the barren wasteland. Something seemed to awake slightly in his memory bank but he wasn't quite sure what it was.

'I feel like I know this place.' he said, twisting his body and trying to gauge his location. 'A long time ago...'

'I don't know how you could know that mate.' Excadrill walked past him in the direction of their trail. 'It's been just sand for a good mile now. What makes you think that?'

Scizor nodded over Excadrill's shoulder.

'Because of that rock-'

'Look at that!' Excadrill shouted loudly, dashing over to a point he was looking at. Scizor shook his head, bringing his attention back to the matter at hand while Excadrill cried out again. 'Scizor! Come check this out!'

Scizor headed over to where Excadrill was and let out a guffaw.

'What the fuck happened here?'

Down below in a sizeable sand pit was a bright green car, it's front severely damaged and its engine still running. One of the wheels had come off and it looked like it had plunged straight into the earth at a considerable speed.

'What kind of moron would crash their car here?' Excadrill exclaimed to the air. 'Or even go here in a car? What the fuck?'

'Never mind that.' Scizor pointed to the cars left. 'They got fucked up just as bad!'

He was pointing at the comatose bodies of Krookodile and Scolipede, their states rendered completely unconscious by the surprise car crash. Excadrill let out another laugh and the two of them slid down the hill to investigate more.

'Good going idiots.' Scizor poked Krookodile on the cheek with the tip of his leg. 'No bounty for you! Scizor wins again.'

'Speaking of bounty,' Excadrill said, scratching his chin. 'The trail stopped around here but I can't see him. Where could he be?'

'You hear that?' Scizor held up his hand. They could hear groaning from both inside and underneath the car. Excadrill's eyes lit up.

'One of them must be that pokemon.' he said, acting as if he was some great detective.

'Think they're conscious too.' Scizor knelt down to see who was under the car. 'I can see movement.'

The muffled voice started to grow louder and quicker, almost as if they were panicking at their situation. Scizor dropped to his hands and knees, reaching out under the vehicle to grab what he could.

'Gotcha.' he fastened his pincer round the struggling pokemon. 'Alright calm down, I'm gonna pull you out.'

To his left, Excadrill burst out from underneath the sand, his facial expression extremely bemused looking.

'What?'

'I just had a quick look at who is actually under there.' Excadrill nodded at the struggling survivor. 'And it's... Well see for yourself.'

Scizor scowled before wrenching his arm in tightly. The pokemon burst out from underneath the car, showering Scizor in a cloud of dust. He buckled slightly and attempted to shield his eyes from the annoying particles while the pokemon whose life was in danger shook herself off, her huge ears drenched in dirt. Excadrill folded his arms and tapped his foot, anticipating an iconic moment in his life.

'...I knew I recognized the voice.' It was Lopunny. On her hands and knees and staring up at Scizor with a look of complete dejection. 'Of all the pokemon in all of this huge fucking desert.'

Scizor finished wiping his eyes and looked up, his scarlet face turning chalk white.

'Lo...Lopunny!?' he staggered to his feet, his whole body disheveled. He attempted to wipe off all the dust and bodily fluids while adjusting himself, straightening up and cracking his neck. 'What? What are you doing here?'

'Oh you know.' Lopunny stood up as well, beating the side of her head and emptying her ears of sand. 'Making something of myself. Like what you told me, being my own pokemon.'

'I don't recall saying that.' It was too little too late for Scizor to choose his words carefully.

'Well it was the message I got.' Lopunny strode closer to Scizor. 'I cannot believe this. I actually cannot believe that I run into you. Of all pokemon! You couldn't write...' She suddenly realized she was repeating what Scolipede said earlier and it was a reminder of how famous her and Scizor's relationship was. She almost bit her tongue off in frustration.

'...So how's it been?' Scizor looked around in every direction. _I'm not a praying man_ , he thought. _But I would thank Arceus every day for the rest of my life if he whisked me away right now and dropped me anywhere. Even the ocean._

'How's it been?' Lopunny exclaimed loudly. 'Oh average you know. Ever since we defeated a literal god pokemon and became the most famous pokemon in Charom? Been plain sailing! Couldn't be more normal.'

'Look can we talk about this later?' Scizor lowered his voice as he was aware that Excadrill was trying to not burst into laughter at the moment. He gave him a death glare which caused Lopunny to turn round.

'Oh yeah I remember you.' She dismissively said.

'Yup.' Excadrill nodded, his mouth curled into a banana shaped smile. 'Totally didn't save your life.'

'Talk later? Well you better pick your moment.' Lopunny looked back at Scizor, her hands on her hips. 'Cos I'm gonna be gone real soon once I help this guy-'

She twisted her head around before clasping her hands to her mouth.

'Where is he?'

'Let me guess,' Scizor rolled his eyes. 'You're looking for a blue pokemon on four legs with a horn out of his head?'

'Oh so you're after him too?' Lopunny was adding more aggression to her voice.

'I'm a mercenary.' Scizor shrugged. 'It's what I do.'

'Just going to knock him out and deliver him as some sort of bounty then?' Lopunny dropped to all fours and scanned the ground underneath the car for any sign of Keldeo. 'That sounds familiar.'

'I want to really know the difference between what I'm doing and whatever you're doing.' The situation really wasn't adding to Scizor's headache. 'I'm assuming you got hired to take this guy in too?'

Lopunny whipped round and drew her hand quickly across her throat to try and get Scizor to shut up.

'Okay, one.' She held up a finger. 'I hired myself. I work for nobody. Two.' She flicked up another. 'I don't know what your intentions were and nor do I want to but mine was to help him.'

'Help him by stealing his energy shit?' Scizor raised his eyebrows. 'Gotcha.'

'Look I'm sure you two are relishing this and believe me, so am I.' Excadrill came in between the two, his grin wide as ever. 'But you do realize there is someone in that car and it's best we get them out.'

Lopunny and Scizor looked back and forth at each other, Excadrill and the vehicle. Eventually, Lopunny sighed and Scizor folded his arms.

'I suppose.' Lopunny turned around and smacked her hand on the bonnet of the sand drenched car. 'Alright we're coming!'

There were gargled shrieks that had been emitting from the inside for a couple of minutes now. Lopunny stepped back and allowed Excadrill to make his way to the car, his claws outstretched.

'Stand back.' Excadrill called out.

'I don't think that's possible.' Scizor shook his head. 'I think one of the reason she's being so loud is cos she is literally trapped with nowhere to move.'

'She?' Lopunny looked up at Scizor.

'I can tell.' Scizor tapped his head, causing Lopunny to grit her teeth. Excadrill cracked his arms and reached out sharply, stabbing the steel door with his claws and ripping it off in one motion. He threw his right arm back causing the door to slide off his claws and straight in the direction of Scizor and Lopunny.

'Watch out!'

Scizor grabbed Lopunny and shoved her downwards, the two of them narrowly avoiding the flying piece of metal. Lopunny tilted her head up at Scizor before brushing his hands away.

'Could have done that myself.'

'Sure.' Scizor said, standing up straight. 'That's why you reacted soo quickly.'

'You really want to go there?' Lopunny asked threateningly. Scizor looked around in bewilderment.

'You've been antagonizing me this entire time but I point out one little fact and then you're gonna flip shit?'

'Trust me, I could go all out now.' Lopunny said, looking back in the direction of Excadrill helping the other survivor. 'I don't think my day could get any worse-'

She stopped in her tracks as the identity of the pokemon being helped out by Excadrill was revealed. The anger that was boiling in her blood at the very moment could have matched Charizard's fire blast for searing temperature.

'Are you alright?' Excadrill held the blue sea lion gently by her flipper as she daintily tinkered off the car and on to the sand.

'How do I look?' Lucina the Primarina asked, flicking her hair back and dusting off the pink star on the side of her head. 'Please don't tell me there are any bodily injuries.'

'I stand corrected.' Lopunny muttered.

'You look...fine? I guess?' Excadrill paused for a second before reaching out with his hand. 'You got a little bit of-'

Excadrill's arm was batted away quickly.

'Your claws are filthy!' Lucina squeaked, backing off as if he was holding a knife. 'I'd rather not let them go anywhere near my face.'

'What?' Excadrill was flabbergasted. 'You just survived a car crash without getting a scratch! I'd say you're doing okay enough that I can't just wipe that stain off.'

'I'll do it myself thank you very much.' Lucina held her nose up in the air. It was then she looked straight ahead and conjured up some sizzling emotions for herself. '...No way!'

'What are you doing here!?' Lopunny advanced towards Lucina with Scizor tip toeing behind her, afraid of anymore conflict.

'Well well well if it isn't little miss sunshine!' Lucina gloated. 'Tell me Lopunny, are you here to investigate any strange energy sources or are you just there to rekindle old flames?' She nodded at Scizor before batting her eyelids. 'Hey there Scizor.'

'Hey.' Scizor attemped a quick smile but aborted it when he noticed the fist of Lopunny clenching tighter.

'Go home.' Lopunny warned her. 'I'm sure someone around here can fix your car. When they do, get the fuck in it and drive back to Tanapas.'

'Why would I do that?' Lucina asked her. 'What's there to gain?'

'Well clearly this isn't something you're cut out for.' Lopunny said. 'Things out here get a little rough. If you can't even handle Excadrill touching you then I'm afraid you have a big storm coming.'

'At least you remembered who I was!' Excadrill laughed. It was clear he was enjoying every second of this. 'Speaking of which, who are you?'

'Lucina.'

'What?' Excadrill and Scizor both said loudly.

'Lucina!' the said pokemon repeated loudly, acting shocked as if they expected them to click immediately who she was.

'Uhhh...' Excadrill scratched his chin before addressing Lopunny. 'What is she really?'

'Primarina.' Lopunny said flatly.

'Yeah that's who you are.' Scizor said, pointing his pincer at the spoilt brat.

'My name is Lucina and you will respect that!' Primarina shrieked. Scizor shook his head.

'I refuse to call you that.' he said indignantly. 'Out here you're no more special than anyone else. You don't get a fancy name. It's Primarina.'

'Or bitch.' Lopunny said, not even trying to hide the jibe.

'Regardless,' Excadrill stated loudest of all. 'I think it would be beneficial to everyone if we could all be quiet for one second and just calm down.'

He waited as Primarina, Scizor and Lopunny all breathed out loudly and remained quiet, allowing the mood to settle slightly. Primarina held her head up high and looked away from everyone else. Lopunny had her arms folded and was tapping her foot impatiently. Scizor shrugged before walking over and casually leaning on the bonnet of the devastated car.

'Alright.' Excadrill said, extending his claws out to the open air. 'So I think its safe to assume that we're all after the same thing here. That blue pokemon.'

'Keldeo.' Lopunny raised her hand.

'Sorry?'

'He said his name is Keldeo.' Lopunny clarified.

'Oh so he is allowed to pick his name then?' Primarina hissed, her voice splitting Scizor's eardrums. 'Oh I see how it is.'

'No you cretin.' Lopunny snapped at her. 'He's not a pokemon I've ever seen before. I don't think this is some nickname! He protected me with a Quick Guard when that car crashed on top of us. Now he's gone. I can't see him.'

'You can't see him.' Excadrill pointed out as Scizor attempted to rejig his memory into establishing where he knew this area from. 'That means that he's likely to be a little bit...buried.'

'Meaning?' Lopunny raised her eyebrow.

'Stay there. I'll be back in a second.' Excadrill crouched down and began to burrow, his arms moving at a rapid speed. Primarina squealed again and tried to avoid the earth flying at her. They waited until Excadrill had fully submerged into the ground and was invisible to them. Primarina groaned and wiped more mud off her shoulder.

'Disgusting.' she said.

'Okay ladies I would love to stay.' Scizor turned round on the spot. 'Really I would but there are some places I'd rather be-'

'No there isn't.' Lopunny grabbed him by the arm. 'I want to know things. A lot of things.'

'I think we all do.' said Scizor, trying to break free from Lopunny's surprisingly tight grip. 'This isn't me making excuses, I genuinely would rather not be here.'

'It's too late.' Lopunny shook her head, her grip so tight it was cutting off Scizor's circulation. 'Now I have this chance I am not letting it go.'

'You're not understanding me!' Scizor wrenched upwards, pulling Lopunny off her feet while she dangled from her arm. 'This particular place isn't really safe and I'm not talking about those two.' He nodded over at the still unconscious bodies of Krookodile and Scolipede.

'Could you two have your domestic somewhere else?' Primarina asked loudly, truly disgruntled by everything around her.

'Yes could we?' Scizor asked again, the remark from Primarina relinquishing Lopunny's grip. She dropped to the ground and stared hard at Primarina.

'If there is anyone who should be going it should be you cos you are clearly out of your depth.' she scolded her.

'Car is busted.' Primarina pointed out. 'No idea where I am. Lucky for you, I get to stay. You wouldn't leave me out on my own would you, lovely Shining Beacon?'

'When push comes to shove,' Lopunny growled. 'I'll knock you out and leave you here myself.'

'Seriously though,' Scizor chimed in. 'we do need to move. Excadrill will be back soon and with him...'

He trailed off as another small explosion of dirt occurred directly next to where they were all standing. Lopunny ducked again as Excadrill flow over her, smacking directly into Primarina, the two of them crashing into the car remnants. Amidst the dust and smoke, two shapes were seen wrestling with each other, one of the pokemon distinctive by the horn shape from his head.

'Keldeo!'

Lopunny dived head first into the cloudy carnage with Scizor reaching out to try and grab her but to no avail. Instead he just called out to her, his eye wincing.

'I don't think that's a good idea-'

CLANG!

Whatever was on top of Keldeo, Lopunny had just charged into and made contact with its very sturdy body. Scizor could hear her faint 'ow' among all the ruckus. Meanwhile behind them, Primarina threw herself off Excadrill, disgusted again at the moles cleanliness and hygiene.

'Be careful!'

'Are you serious!?' Excadrill cried out, bouncing to his feet. 'More pressing things at hand here!'

'You could accomplish those things without getting me in a state!' Primarina screamed at him. Excadrill sighed to himself. _I should have left you in the car_ , he thought.

'Lady Lopunny!' It was Keldeo's voice. Lopunny shook herself off and faced the pokemon on top of Keldeo. An insect pokemon with a metal body, a bit like Scizor except this one was grey and quadripedal, its pincers at its mouth and its eyes red and old looking.

'Get off him!' Lopunny warned him while Scizor, Excadrill and Primarina all made their way through the dust. 'I mean it!'

'I don't like intruders!' the pokemon shouted, his old voice harsh and croaky. 'Especially no pesky kids!'

'Durant!' Scizor shouted loudly. The bug pokemon paused where he was, one of his legs still tightly compressed on Keldeo's upper body and looked around.

'Scizor?'

His grip relaxed a little, allowing Keldeo to breath.

'Yeah it's me.' Scizor slowly approached Durant as Lopunny stared in disbelief at another connection. 'Relax, he's not out to get you. He didn't mean to intrude.'

'These all your new merc friends?' Durant rumbled, gesturing round at everyone here. 'Gotta say it's a downgrade. Two girls, a kid and a blind rat? I expected better.'

'No it's not that.' Scizor shook his head. Excadrill blinked in astonishment while Keldeo slid out from underneath Durant's grip.

'Then what is this, boy?' Durant exclaimed. 'I don't go out into the surface much and when I do theres always this trouble. There better be an explanation.'

'Oh yeah you have a lot of catching up to do.' Scizor scratched the back of his head. Beneath him, Lopunny helped Keldeo up, his body now adorned with new injuries to go with his wounded leg.

'Are you okay?' asked Lopunny.

'I'm fine.' said Primarina. 'I'm a little startled but I'll be fine.'

'I'm not talking to you!' snapped Lopunny, rubbing Keldeo on the back.

'I guess so.' Keldeo breathed, his voice still shaky.

'Apologize.' Lopunny said to Durant, who let out a raspy chuckle.

'Young lady, I will never do such a thing.' he said stubbornly. 'A child runs into your room unwanted you do not give him dinner. You chase him out.'

'I am not a child!' Keldeo said brashly. Scizor rubbed his pincer on his face, hating the situation he was in.

'You live in a pile of sand! It's an easy mistake to make!' Lopunny cried, her hand on Keldeo's back. 'Scizor, who is this prick?'

'This is Durant.' Scizor gestured at him. 'He was my combat and survival instructor years ago when the war started. We fought together.'

'Taught him everything I know.' Durant nodded. Despite the proud statement, he was looking at Scizor with a look that resembled disappointment. Lopunny pursed her lips together. _Another thing that Scizor never told me about._

'Well you clearly didn't teach him any manners.' Primarina piped up. 'He should know to call pokemon by their name by now!'

'You have some cheek to talk about manners!' Excadrill yelled at her.

'Good manners can be earned with some hygiene!' Primarina shouted back. They were about to argue even more before Scizor plunged his arm straight underneath the crashed car, ripping off one of its tires in one motion and proceeded to fling it straight at the two of them. It narrowly missed much to Excadrill's shock and Primarina's frightened relief. Everyone stood where they were. Primarina and Excadrill remaining deadly quiet while Scizor, Lopunny and Keldeo were emitting heavy breaths. Durant was scowling and looking about at all these young pokemon with a level of disdain.

'There's a small settlement not too far from here.' Scizor exhaustedly pointed to his right, looking as if every movement was killing him. 'It's where I wanted to go when I realized we were in Durant's home.' He nodded at Excadrill. 'I did recognize it cos of one of the nearby rocks.'

'Oh he's tried that excuse with you has he?' Lopunny said to Excadrill.

'I don't know how he does it.' Excadrill shook his head.

'Because of me.' Durant said, his eyes becoming slits.

'Anyway,' Scizor said louder than ever. 'I suggest we go there, have a drink or two and just wind down. We can discuss things there. Come on everyone.' He began to trudge up the sandy hill. 'No good will come from staying there.'

He waited for them to join. Excadrill moved first, leaving Primarina in his wake. Durant as well, his many legs scuttling along the ground with the movement style of an athletic and powerful pokemon way past his prime. Lopunny hesitated before beckoning Keldeo forward. He followed suit and eventually, Primarina slowly but surely began her trek up the hill with her forced new friends.


	6. Chapter Five: A Pint Of Bitter

**Chapter Five: A Pint of Bitter**

The little shantytown that Scizor and Excadrill spent yesterday evening in was less quiet than it was before. In the local pub, a couple of mercenaries were trading miscellaneous items with each other and another few were enjoying the very average refreshments served by a moody looking bartender. If he was moody, then it was nothing compared to the face on Primarina, who looked as if the glass that Scizor was giving her had literal feces in it.

'I am not touching that.' she said, edging her seat away from the table in protest.

'It's just beer.' Scizor shut his eyes tightly.

'And the glass looks like it hasn't been washed in days.' Primarina continued. Excadrill, who was sitting next to her, looked like he wanted to kill himself.

'You're a water pokemon!' he said as Scizor turned away and placed the tray of drinks in the middle of the table for everyone to take. 'You could just wash it yourself!'

'A job like that is way beneath my talents honey.' Primarina shook her head, her condescending attitude grating Excadrill deeply.

'You elitist-'

Excadrill contained his anger and breathed out, slumping back in his chair. Beside them, both Lopunny and Keldeo were wearing cloaks to conceal their identity. She was lightly dabbing her green medicine on Keldeo's many wounds, a little wince occurring every time her wipe touched the flesh.

'Sorry.' Lopunny smiled kindly at Keldeo, who was holding his cries of pain in. 'I know it stings but it's the best thing for it.'

'I appreciate it.' Keldeo managed a faint smile. Lopunny finished wiping up the cut on his neck where Durant had ravaged him slightly with his pincers and moved on to a gash besides his eye.

'So...' Lopunny began, her fingers gently pulling Keldeo's cheek across to try and expose the entire injury for her to heal. '...Where are you from? You're not from Charom I know that for sure.'

'Yeah I'm not meant to be here.' Keldeo said, now becoming used to the pain of the medicine. 'I got separated from my friends on our boat. A wave must have caught me because I washed up on shore here and haven't seen them since.'

'Oh no...' Lopunny's heart sank. 'You poor thing. It must be awfully scary.'

'I've been putting on my brave face.' Keldeo's heart fluttered once again as Lopunny's face came within centimetres of his, her amazing eyes looking like a pathway to infinity, her lovely smell infecting his nostrils.

'I'm sure you have.' she smiled again. She leaned in and whispered in his ear. 'Never mind all them. They're all idiots.'

'Who is that one?' Keldeo nodded at one of the pokemon coming around the table. 'The big red guy. Cos he acts like the leader now but less than an hour ago he was vomiting and acting like he didn't give a shit about any of this.'

'Really?' Lopunny raised her eyebrows. 'Now that is telling.'

'You look at him like he's done something wrong.' noticed Keldeo, his voice rather hushed. 'So who is he?'

'If you must know,' Lopunny tilted her head slightly, wiping some dirt off Keldeo's face. 'That's Scizor. He's my ex boyfriend.'

'Your what!?' Keldeo exclaimed, rather startled. No sooner had the words left his mouth, Scizor popped up over Keldeo's back and looked down at them both.

'Everything okay?'

'We're fine thank you.' Lopunny said. Scizor leaned over, propping his arm on the table to the right of Keldeo's head.

'Just want to make sure everyone is ready to speak.' Scizor said. Keldeo's eyes peered to his right and his heart sank as he noticed the sheer size and ruggedness of Scizor's arm. _Aw great_ , he thought to himself. _Jealous ex boyfriends with biceps the size of the sun are always good signs._

'I told you we're fine Scizor.' Lopunny said again, looking up from Keldeo's face. 'I have this in order.'

'Alright then.' Scizor nodded at them both before turning away and rolling his eyes in exasperation at Lopunny's pettiness. He pulled up a seat between Keldeo and Durant, who was eyeing everyone moving around the pub with a mistrusting look.

'What are you looking at?' he barked at a nearby marshtomp who was taken aback.

'I wasn't looking at anything sir?' he said, holding his newspaper in two hands.

'Yeah yeah sure.' Durant shook his head and turned back to the table muttering to himself.

'Nothings happening old man.' Scizor dropped down in his seat. 'You're being paranoid.'

'I ain't been to one of these places in years.' Durant mused, taking a swig from his beer. 'Nothings changed though. The same little punks eyeballing ya.'

'Yeah the exact same.' Scizor propped his head on his claw. 'Underground for like, what is that, eight years or so? Sure nothing has changed since then.'

'That's what happens when you fight a war like that.' Durant said, his eyes bugging out and slightly manic. 'You get to my age and you fight big lizards who won't stop until they have ya for dinner. You lose your faith in Charom so down you go.' Durant whistled and made a clicking noise to imitate dropping downward. 'In yer own space, away from young bucks. I use my entrainment move to absorb the nutrients in the ground left by pokemon long dead.'

'That is so gross.' Primarina clapped her hand to her mouth, her face turning green.

'How old are you?' Lopunny asked out, rather rudely. Scizor wanted to cut across but Durant beat him to it.

'Young lady, I have been on this land since before your grandparents learned to walk.' Durant said loudly. Lopunny scrutinized him closely, her hand still on Keldeo's back.

'You don't know Armaldo do you? The explorer?'

'Armaldo!?' Durant squawked before letting out a wheezy laugh. 'That old fraud? Haha! I bet he's been telling you his garbage stories about meeting a Darkrai or something?'

'Don't insult him.' Lopunny growled, her grip on Keldeo tightening so much that he let out a pained grunt. 'Oh sorry!'

'Scizor if these aren't yer new mercenary buddies,' Durant looked back at Scizor, seemingly ignoring Lopunny eyeing him with contempt. 'then who are they?'

'You know Excadrill right?' Scizor nodded over at the mole who waved. 'We fought alongside each other during many skirmishes.'

'Not at all.' Durant shook his head, looking past Excadrill who let out a disappointed groan. 'And her?'

'She's...' Scizor raised his arm at Primarina, his eyes shut tightly for a moment as his memory attempted to regather who she was. '...Someone. Sorry what did you say your name was? Primrose?'

'Prima... Lucina.'

'I told you we're not calling you that.' Excadrill said to her, his temper boiling. Scizor nodded.

'You don't look like much of a mercenary to me.' Durant said, being as brutally honest as possible.

'I'm a different kind of mercenary.' Primarina puffed out her chest. 'I give the people what they want.'

'So like a prostitute?' Durant's eyes widened. 'Now that I can believe from your looks.'

'You what!?'

'Anyway,' Scizor stood up rather quickly to divert the attention away from Primarina's rage. 'I don't know her, she just appeared.' He shrugged his shoulders. 'That's all I have to go on. You should tell us who you are.'

'Well if you must know,' Primarina said, her snooty voice returning to a more composed mode. 'I work for Tanapas television. I'm kind of a big deal that way. I've only had the job for a couple of months yet I'm considered the brightest spark on the news channel.'

'I can't imagine why.' Scizor rolled his eyes.

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'Well you act like you don't want to be here.' Lopunny said, tilting her head at Primarina. 'A good reporter isn't afraid to get their hands dirty and take on the difficult jobs.'

'See if my equipment wasn't destroyed in that car crash, I would have been in and out in a second.' Primarina told her, gesturing at Keldeo. 'Was just going to go and check out all the weird stuff surrounding-'

'Yeah we get it.' Lopunny waved her hand about the air. 'You were another one out to capture Keldeo here.'

'And you weren't?' Primarina asked coldly. Excadrill bit down on his tongue as Keldeo looked up at Lopunny aghast.

'Lady Lopunny-'

'You're right. I wasn't.' Lopunny surprisingly remained calm and reassured looking. 'I'm perfectly aware of the attention that I bring by investigating things. However, I have enough faith in the pokemon of Charom that when they see the same thing that I see they will offer help rather than just act hostile to what they don't understand. We've already seen what happens when we put others before ourselves haven't we Scizor?'

Scizor tapped his claw against the table softly as Durant looked back at him.

'What's the bunny talking about?'

'...You've been away for so long now...' Scizor said, remarkably softly. 'You had any idea about the Clan of Shadows? That ring a bell?'

'A little bit.' Durant tilted his head upwards, trying to gather up some thoughts. 'Nothing to worry about I assume?'

'Not anymore.' Lopunny said, rather smugly. Everyone looked at her and she continued. 'With the help of a few others, me and Scizor stopped them.'

Durant's eyes widened while Primarina sighed, dabbing her eye with her flipper.

'By others,' Excadrill waved his claw tentatively. 'she means me.'

'What do you mean?' Keldeo asked Lopunny, his face glowing.

'There was a battle.' Lopunny told him while Scizor sat back, seemingly not making eye contact with anyone. 'A battle between those who wanted pokemon to suffer and those who wanted to save them. We were on the latter side and we won.'

'You saved them?' Keldeo exclaimed, his mouth open wide and his eyes sparkling with awe. 'You stopped this Clan of Shadows? You served justice?'

'I'd say we did.' Lopunny smiled. 'We did bring justice to them.'

'Most of them.' Scizor corrected her, taking a large gulp of his drink. 'There were a few that evaded capture.'

Lopunny gritted her teeth slightly but Keldeo's head was bobbing up and down enthusiastically.

'Then what are we waiting for?' Keldeo almost shouted, causing a few heads to turn. 'Let's go get them!'

'Keep it down!' Lopunny hissed, urging Keldeo to be calm. 'We don't want to draw attention. We are a big deal. Yes bigger than you.' she glared at Primarina.

'What's with you?' Excadrill asked Keldeo. 'Back there you wanted to run away from everything but now you're all like super excited at the prospect of fighting?'

'It's a... It's a code.' Keldeo said. 'A code of honour and conduct.'

'What do you mean?' asked Lopunny. Keldeo looked up at her and loving every moment he got the chance.

'My friends that I was separated from.' Keldeo began to tell the group yet his eyes were only for Lopunny. 'We embarked on an adventure. An adventure to help pokemon in need across many lands. We swore on our honour that we would never turn down a pokemon in need. This would be our job until the day we die and if ever a friend was in need we would stick by them. All for one and one for all, that's what we said.'

'Rings a bell.' Excadrill murmured.

'Probably something from a book.' Primarina muttered crossly.

'It's a promise.' Keldeo continued. 'You make it when you become part of a group. The promise that takes importance over every other decision you make and influences the way your life pans out.'

'Very admirable I think.' Lopunny smiled again.

'What was your groups promise?' Keldeo asked her.

'Oh uh...' Lopunny looked at Scizor, rather taken aback. 'Well it's complicated. I'll tell you later.'

'I reckon we all had our individual promises.' Scizor shrugged. Next to him, Durant was listening with the most intent they had seen all day. 'We weren't together for long and the relationships with each other could get a little frosty. The difference between our team and yours is that you chose to come together and we were forced.'

'I don't think that should deter you from making a group promise.' Keldeo said.

'Well I do.' Scizor said curtly before making an arrogant flicking gesture with his hand. 'What you gonna do about it?'

Keldeo shrank down slightly as Lopunny directed her seemingly permanent glare at Scizor this time.

'Still need my question answered.' Excadrill piped up. 'Why are you acting eager for action now as a pose to when you were running scared back then?'

'Isn't it obvious?' Lopunny said. 'He's disconnected from his group in a weird and hostile land where everyone who sees him is trying to snap him. You'd do the same.'

'Very fair.' Excadrill threw his hands up, conceding defeat. Scizor smirked and took another large drink while Keldeo breathed an internal sigh of relief at having to explain how really not brave he felt without a team.

'So what now?' Lopunny asked the group at large. 'You still going to act on whatever bounty you were set? What you going to do about Keldeo?'

'That's yet to be decided.' Scizor leaned back in his seat, his claw stroking the tip of his glass. 'Keldeo, your friends? Do they emit any telltale signs from them like that blue smoke that came from your injured leg?'

'I don't know Mr Scizor.' Keldeo shook his head. 'They are such fine warriors I have never witnessed them succumb to injury once. You can see why I'd like to emulate them so much.'

Scizor smirked. _We'll see about that._

'Well I think we should help Keldeo find them.' Lopunny said confidently. 'The sooner he returns to them, the safer he'll be. I'll always take being reunited with a few friends than in a large group of pokemon that I can't tell if they're friends or foes.'

Everyone looked around in silence after Lopunny finished. Primarina and Excadrill sat with their arms folded and staring slightly blankly into thin air. Durant was still acting tetchy, seeing to jerk his head round at the slightest noise and provocation. Scizor had his legs crossed rather arrogantly, his eyes on Lopunny. In the end, he lifted up his pint and chopped the contents in one.

'Suit yourself.'

He stood up straight and dusted himself off before turning to the other three.

'If anyone needs me I'll be out the back.'

They all watched as Scizor sauntered off past Keldeo and an extra collection of tables. As he walked, he casually stuck his arm out and snatched an unattended drink from behind the back of a clueless customer. The awkward observation from his group continued until he kicked open the door to the outside beer garden and disappeared out of sight.

'You know he's not as nice as I thought he'd be.' Primarina tutted. Her eyes were gazing at a certain part of Scizor's lower body the whole time he was walking. 'Seems a bit-'

'Rude?' Lopunny interrupted her again but this time it was actually in agreement. 'Yup.'

She stood to her feet as well, her hand brushing on Keldeo's head in a reassuring fashion.

'Don't worry I'll be back.' Her kind smile changed to threatening when looking up at the other three, telling them to 'don't try anything funny.' She turned and followed her ex out of the door of the bar. Keldeo watched her leave with a sad glint in his eye, his demeanor rather crestfallen. Excadrill stretched his back and managed a chuckle to himself.

'Anyone wanna get drunk?'

* * *

A cloud passed over the scorching sun, causing a second long chill to pass through Scizor's body. He leaned on the low fence separating the bar and the long stretch of sand reaching far out into the distance, sipping on his illegitimately retrieved drink. What a whacky day it had been for him. After projecting vomit on his partner the moment their coveted bounty had appeared before him, he just happens to run into his jilted ex, her snide rival and his rather outdated and offensive combat instructor all in the space of a few minutes. _No wonder many drinks were needed for this_ , Scizor thought, holding his glass up to the sun and watching the brown liquid glitter in container. He didn't even need the reflection in the liquid to tell who had come through the door about ten metres behind him.

'I didn't come out here cos I required a chat.' he said out loud, not turning around. 'It was stuffy in there, I like my space.'

'Cut the bullshit.' Lopunny said, shutting the door behind her and walking closer to him. 'Scizor... What is going on?'

'Huh?'

'With you.' Lopunny clarified, coming up next to Scizor at the fence. 'How could you go back to this?'

'You mean going back to my day job and carrying on with life?' Scizor retorted, finally looking at her. 'It's all I wanted. Enough crazy shit has happened for me thanks.'

'I gave you the chance to walk away from that.' Lopunny gestured around at the plains before them. 'All this mercenary business, I can tell you don't like it.'

'Gave me the chance? Gee thanks, you make it sound like you dictate what I do.' Scizor scowled, drinking from the glass again.

'You know I didn't mean it that way.'

'But it's not that I don't like it.' Scizor said, perching himself on top of the fence and looking even further down at the much smaller Lopunny. 'Yes the tasty jobs have dried up a little recently but I can still get a kick out of it.' He paused for a second, the grip on his glass tighter than ever. 'You need to leave the desert right now.'

'Why?' asked Lopunny indignantly. 'I have a job to do. I need to guide Keldeo back to his friends.'

'You leave that to me.'

'Absolutely not.' Lopunny drew herself up taller, albeit still not reaching Scizor's chest. 'After how you've treated him? I can handle myself fine and in this desert I have the perfect chance to showcase-'

'Showcase?' If Scizor held the glass any tighter it would surely shatter into a million pieces. 'Out here there is no time to showcase! This isn't practice, you don't get to just try again the next day. Pokemon die on the field or they live. There is no in between.' Scizor dropped from the perch to face her. 'Here's the thing... I am really proud of you and how far you've come.'

'You are?' Lopunny was taken aback.

'Of course!' Scizor exclaimed, smiling for the first time today, albeit slightly weakly. 'From what you were when we first met to right now? Not only are you a better warrior and better at your job, it's made you a better pokemon. You stand up for yourself more, you don't take shit from anyone. It's...wonderful.' Scizor's smile then fell and his voice lowered to a much huskier tone. 'And I get too worried.'

Lopunny stayed silent, staring into Scizor's face with a puzzled expression. Scizor continued.

'When I saw that Nidoqueen cunt attacking you the way she did, I knew from that second on that for my sake you had to be kept out of harms way. I don't know what I would do with myself if I saw you in that kind of danger. This desert is full of monsters like her and the last thing I want is for you to face off with another.'

'I can do it.' Lopunny said, edging even closer to Scizor, her eyes becoming more pleading. 'I know I can.'

'The only way for me to prove that is for me to see it.' Scizor said, his tone unchanging. 'Like I said, no room for errors in Shan'rala. And Nidoqueen wasn't even the biggest threat on that battlefield. If you meet a pokemon like that Bisharp guy... I don't care how you feel, you run. Do not engage.'

'How do you think I feel about you though!?' Lopunny cried out, her frustration boiling through her large ears. 'You put yourself in these kind of dangerous situations every day! To put it in your words, what if you make one mistake? What if you just get killed suddenly and nobody is there to hear about it, you just become another pile of bones in the sand? I wanted you to stay away from this kind of thing and I know you were tempted to, don't deny it.' She pointed her finger dangerously at Scizor. He stayed silent for a few seconds before lifting his glass to his mouth and chopping a good amount of alcohol. Lopunny watched this with her eyebrow raised.

'Are you alright?'

'Yeah I'm great.' Scizor wiped his mouth and placed the glass down again. 'What were we talking about?'

'You're just trying to bide time for a response cos you know it's true.' Lopunny said, her smirk looking self-satisfied. Scizor folded his arms and shrugged.

'Believe what you want.' he said. 'It doesn't change anything. My way of life does not go along with yours.'

'You act as if the last three months never happened.' Lopunny's voice bit into Scizor again. 'How much better I am and in many ways, thanks to you!'

'You keep missing my point.' Scizor was trying to remain calm. 'Better isn't good enough. Just cos you practiced new survival skills and are currently occupied with a job that uses those things doesn't mean that you are cut out for it out here with me.'

'With you?' Lopunny scoffed, placing her hands on her hips sassily. 'Don't think I'm doing this to chase you.'

'Then why are you here?' Scizor turned his head, drinking the remaining slivers of beer.

'I've already told you, I have a job to do.' Lopunny enunciated every syllable for Scizor to clearly hear. 'No matter what you think I should do, I am not leaving until I see it complete.'

'Is there anything in your contract about seeing Keldeo go back to his mates?' Scizor replied snarkily.

'No this is about doing what is right over anything material driven.' Lopunny replied. She lowered her shoulders and stared into Scizor's eyes with a deep despairing expression. 'Thought that was at least something you had learned. Looks like I was wrong.'

She looked up at Scizor for a few more seconds as the wind whistled past them, a steady onslaught of customers and mercenaries appearing on the horizon, ready to get to work on a new day. Akin to what she would set out to do, except with a much less fulfilling purpose.

'I think I'm done here.' Lopunny sighed, scratching her left ear. 'Found out what I need I reckon.'

As Lopunny began to walk away, Scizor stood back, his back slightly touching against the fence. He could hear cries out from behind him, shouts of recognition at who they thought he was. There was a part of him angry at Lopunny for not being able to see why he couldn't let her stay with him or in the desert but in all fairness, he hadn't fully revealed the reason. _Give it a rest_ , he thought to himself. _She isn't a mind reader._

'Lopunny.'

She stopped and turned around, slightly quicker than she intended. To cover her tracks, she pretended to scan the ground as if she had dropped something before looking back up at Scizor, who slowly extended his arm.

'I'll help you.' he said, stepping forward. 'That crew inside the pub there can all band together and get Keldeo home.'

'That was quick.' Lopunny shrugged. She was secretly gloating inside but decided to play hard to get for the fun of it. 'You sure? Thought you were going to do this for me while I go back home?'

'Nothing can be gained from that.' Scizor scratched the back of his head sheepishly. 'I still stand by the danger you'll be in crossing this desert but I reckon with three residents of Shan'rala to guide and help you along the way then we can get this done.'

'...Thank you.' There was genuine sincerity in Lopunny's voice.

'I just need you to follow my orders.' Scizor's voice came out very quickly there.

'What?'

'When the going gets tough.' Scizor clarified. 'If I tell you to run then you run. If I tell you not to engage with anyone I think is beyond your skill then you retreat. That's the only condition I promise.' He extended his arm further out to her, his red claw opened wide. 'Deal?'

Lopunny raised her hand slowly, still critical of the situation. She had no reason to believe that Scizor didn't have her best interests at heart but she was still frustrated at his lack of faith. _Then again_ , she thought, looking over his shoulder at some of the rougher customers approaching the pub, _I do know that there can be mercenaries more dangerous than even Scizor_. _For all I know, that Krookodile and Scolipede could have killed me if... Primarina didn't save me_. She shuddered at the concept of that.

'Deal.' She grasped Scizor's claw firmly and they finally smiled at each other with a level of respect that was not forced. 'It's more handy to team up again without being at each others throats.'

Scizor laughed.

'You're right.' They still held on to each others hands, waiting for the other to let go. 'I think I've had enough of my share of you tearing me to bits.'

'It's mostly self inflicted if you ask me.' Lopunny chuckled. _Ugh_ , she thought, her eyes travelling from Scizor's large forearms up to his rugged face and dark eyes. _I hate how good looking he is._

'I guess you'd say the amount of pain makes the good stuff more worthwhile?' Scizor tried to maintain eye contact yet was slipping downwards to Lopunny's hips and legs. _I wish I was a bit more strong willed than this_ , he thought, clenching his teeth slightly.

'Look!' Voices distracted the pair of them from the tension they were exerting from every pore. 'It's Scizor and Lopunny!'

'Go for it big fella!' A rhyhorn shouted as his cronies lined up by the fence to watch the two celebrities. 'You know you want it!'

'Let's go.' Scizor turned his head quickly but Lopunny was already disengaged from him and nodding frantically.

'Lets.'

* * *

'And in my humble opinion,' Excadrill leaned back proudly with his beer in two hands. 'that is why recycled droppings make for much better fuel sources than anything Tanapas has made.'

'I stopped listening the moment you said the term "grimer food".' Primarina said, a combination of queasiness and disgruntlement on her face. She sat in her seat, her eyes staring straight ahead, every now and again fidgeting in discomfort with every pokemon passing by. Durant was having the same reactions except he looked like a ticking time bomb about to explode.

'Yeah I know it can put off a lot of folk when you get into detail,' Excadrill carried on. 'but it is always nice to try new things.'

'I think when that phrase is used it often describes new food or maybe a holiday location.' Primarina said, looking to her right. 'Not when it involves crushing up poo to put in your car.'

'Young fella yer wasting yer time on that one.' Durant shook his head. 'City dwellers only try new shit when it's the popular thing or if they get paid. Life now is about getting things done easily with no challenge.'

'Getting to where I am was not easy.' Primarina replied. 'And you use the term city dweller as if living underground is the way to go. Even without bright lights and the big city, an urban environment is a thousand times better for you.'

'I think it depends on what pokemon you are.' Excadrill said, trying to remain the reasonable one between the two psychos. 'I just don't think the excadrill line is cut out for structured houses.'

'You can reside in a big building like this for a bit?' Primarina waved about the pub. 'What's the difference between that and a house?'

'I have a wife and children and trust me, there is no chance a house would be suitable for all of us!' Excadrill laughed as behind him, the door opened and in walked a group of rowdy desert hunters.

'Okay how about this?' Durant leaned forward, causing both Primarina and Excadrill to edge closer. 'You get yer dream job, yer dream house and yer dream car BUT they were all powered by poo fuel.'

Excadrill burst out into a merry chortle while Primarina couldn't help but manage a small smile.

'Hey I saw that!' Excadrill pointed at her as it got wider with the sound of the moles nazelly mirth. 'She's warming up a little!'

'Okay you got me there.' Primarina looked up at the content Durant, laughing wryly. 'I'll need to think.'

There was another bout of laughter emitting from the table, causing them all to turn and see Keldeo bobbing up and down in his chair, his wounds mostly healed and his disguise still hanging off him. His smile was as wide as Excadrill's and as surprising as Primarina's, as he hadn't spoke at all for the duration where Lopunny was away.

'I had no idea you could be such a social influence.' Excadrill nodded at Durant. 'Look at him! He's lovin' this.'

'It wasn't my intention.' Durant said blankly. 'I really am curious to see an answer.'

Primarina was about to open her mouth before there was a clank next to her, and both she and Excadrill felt a sizable frame force themselves between them. It was a cacturne, his beady eyes fixed straight on Primarina with a creepy smile attached.

'You finer than most you get roun' these parts.' he sneered, causing Primarina's stomach to turn. 'You hangin' about these losers for?'

'What are you doing?' Primarina avoided eye contact with the horrible looking crook. 'Leave me alone.'

'Lil' bit frigid this one.' Cacturne said over his shoulders, causing his mates to laugh in a chorus.

'Hey buddy I think she just said to leave her.' Excadrill rose to his feet. It wasn't doing much considering his and Cacturne's height differences but his facial expression was defiant and disgusted. 'Jog on.'

There was another pushing motion to Excadrill's right as one of Cacturne's cronies had come to put more pressure on the situation.

'You can sit down you rat.' Golem rumbled, forcing Excadrill down to his seat with force. 'We have this under control.'

'Now you see this is actually where I respect someones property.' Excadrill said out loud to anyone who would listen. 'Cos if I wasn't in another pokemons pub I could totally dig underground and kick the shit out of all of you.'

'You see darlin'?' Cacturne leered at Primarina. 'Think you're needing a guy who actually adds bite to his bark.' He then loomed up in Primarina's face causing her to push it away forcefully with her outstretched fin.

'Fuck off!'

'Why don't ya keep your hands to yerself ya fuckin sandstick.' Durant said aggressively. The whole pub went silent with a couple of gasps at Durant's racist remark, a derogatory term previously used for grass pokemon in the desert long ago. Cacturne stood up straight and stared directly at the defiant old Durant.

'Say that again but even closer you old prick.'

'Alright then.' Durant shrugged casually. He pushed his chair back and stood up with many eyes watching.

'Guys take this outside!' The bartender yelled out. Durant ignored him and scuttled straight up to Cacturne before standing on his hind legs to face him. Like Excadrill, he was a lot smaller than the cactus-like pokemon but there was not a shred of fear in his face.

'I said why don't ya keep your hands to yerself you sandstick,' Durant said, his crusty old voice dripping with viciousness. 'or else I'll show you how I uprooted and ripped up yer grandparents with these pincers.'

Cacturne let out a shriek of fury and stabbed forwards with his needle arm but it was caught in mid air with Durant's said weapon. He yelled in pain and fear as Durant sank them deep into his forearm.

'AHH! HELP!' He screamed to the handful of his friends who were watching what was happening with apprehension before springing to action. The more that Cacturne pulled away, the deeper Durant's pincers sank into him, beginning to draw dark blood. Primarina squeaked at the opportunity of freedom and dived underneath the table, avoiding the outstretched arm of one of the ruffians. Quick as a flash, Excadrill threw his arm out backwards and caught Golem on the nose, stunning him for just enough time to jump on to the table and swing his leg backwards at one of the glasses. It flew through the air and smashed into Golem's face, sending glass everywhere.

'Let's do this!' a punter nearby smashed his cup down on his table. It was clear that he had been waiting for this for some time now. Keldeo watched with an open mouth as that pokemon turned to the nearest customer and landed a massive punch to his face with no warning, sending him flying back over the table. The entire pub had gone into a frenzied and violent mode, glass breaking and drinks spilling everywhere.

'Gotcha!'

Primarina screamed as a machoke grabbed hold of her tail with the intent of pulling her back into plain sight. Excadrill took notice of this amidst the chaos and grabbed hold of Machoke's face, bringing it downwards and smacking it hard off his knee. Durant had finally let go of the whimpering Cacturne and had moved on to his next target with a frightening speed for a pokemon of his age.

'Are you okay?' Excadrill cried out underneath the table to Primarina who managed to shaky nod. Meanwhile, Keldeo ducked underneath a flying glass and scanned for a way out. He saw a door opening ahead and knew that was his ticket out however his view was impeded by a large green leg.

'You stand and you fight!' It was Cacturne, his arm shaking but his eyes still alight with malice. Keldeo gulped and stood to his shaking legs, hoping that Durant or Excadrill would take notice of what he was up against.

'Come on then let's see what ya got!' Cacturne raised his arms, his tall frame intimidating him to no end. By his side, a malamar and a mandibuzz stood ominously, looking to feed on whatever was leftover when Cacturne was done. Suddenly, a brown shape flew directly into Cacturne's lower half, crippling him and sending the thug tumbling down like a sack of potatoes. Keldeo jumped back in fright as Lopunny rolled back on to her feet, standing over the feeble and whining Cacturne who had just been absolutely speared by her surprising power.

'Miss me?' she nudged Keldeo playfully who gasped with joy. Malamar and Mandibuzz where completely taken aback at seeing their chum completely poleaxed by this tiny rabbit. Lopunny looked up at her opponents, flicking her ears back in preparation for more. Behind her, Excadrill was attempting to hold down the mighty Golem on top of the table while Durant was tearing around, scaring the life out of anyone he approached.

'Lady Lopunny, allow me!' Keldeo stepped in front of her, eager to impress. Before either of them could say anything to progress the inevitable argument, Malamar lunged forward. However, it's progress was impeded by an outstretched scarlet arm grabbing it's tentacle and twisting extremely hard. As Malamar screamed in agony, Mandibuzz squawked and flapped his wings but Scizor was ready for anything. Grabbing Malamar by the scruff of the neck, he used his strength to lift it over his head and fling it hard at the oncoming Mandibuzz. They collided in mid air and landed in a heap next to Cacturne.

'Got your back.' Scizor smirked, shaking his arms off. Lopunny and Keldeo watched as he wiped his forehead and grabbed one of the remaining intact glasses, drinking the liquid inside in one move.

'Still got it.' Lopunny murmured under her breath, watching Scizor place the glass down and stretch his back.

'What?' Keldeo asked, obviously bothered that Scizor stole his thunder.

'Oh nothing.' Lopunny waved her hand. There was still noise and chaos everywhere they looked, the bar was in total disarray and the owner had given up hope in trying to keep things calm. Scizor then leaned down to Lopunny and Keldeo's fight, a little bit of beer trickling from his chin.

'As fun as it would be to bust a few more fools,' he said loudly over the commotion. 'I think we may have overstayed our welcome.'

'Agreed.' Lopunny nodded. 'Scizor you got a bit of-'

She reached out with her hand to wipe his face. Keldeo watched the action happen right before his eyes and he grew more and more irritated.

'Oh thanks.' Scizor said when Lopunny pulled her hand away. He looked up to see where his mates were. 'Excadrill! Stop being a bully and let's roll out!'

Excadrill eventually ceased his constant bashing of Golem's face despite him being unconscious for several seconds now and stared at Scizor slightly manically. Primarina popped her head out from under the table after her ears had been subject to the sound of Excadrill's flying arms.

'You're insane.' Primarina quivered, staring at Excadrill who seemed to snap himself out of his aggressive mode.

'Hey don't call me that when you got this thing running about!' Excadrill jerked his head over at Durant, who was still barking and snapping at anyone who wasn't part of the group. 'Hey Grandpa, that's enough! Calm the fuck down!'

Durant finished the steady intimidation of the Marshtomp he had yelled at earlier and turned to face his comrades, the craziness in his face matching Excadrill's earlier. He was drooling slightly which made Primarina groan in dismay.

'You never lose that hunger!' he cackled, ignoring the scraps going on behind him.

'Hunger?' Primarina yelped, drawing herself up straight again. 'You weren't planning on-'

'Best not to know.' Scizor came up to the pair of them, Lopunny and Keldeo following closely behind. 'Anyway let's boogie. The longer we stay, the worse it's gonna get for us.'

'Shame.' Lopunny shrugged, allowing Scizor and Keldeo to walk ahead of her. 'Was getting into the groove.'

She let the others move ahead of her before waving an apologetic wave at the fed up bartender amidst the exhausted looking fighters. As she tried to follow her friends, she felt an arm grab hers tightly from behind and causing her heart to leap out her chest.

'You ain't goin' nowhere.' It was the persistent Cacturne, both his arm and his leg bleeding profusely but he hadn't given up yet. His grip was tight on Lopunny's arm and it was cutting off her circulation quickly. Scizor and Keldeo heard this and turned quickly.

'I'd really advise letting her go.' Scizor growled, staring hard at Cacturne.

'No chance.' Cacturne said menacingly. Lopunny lunged out with her other hand but Cacturne caught that too, which really set Lopunny's heart off. 'You think I'd pass off a prize like this after what just happened?'

'You did this to yourself.' Scizor sighed, cracking his neck. 'You got nobody else to blame for what is about to-'

Keldeo pushed past Scizor before he could finish his threat and lifted his two front hooves. Cacturne let go of Lopunny and threw up his spiky shield, thinking that Keldeo was about to slam down on him with a stomp. What happened next however, defied everyones expectations.

'Sacred sword attack!'

A flash of blue light emitted from Keldeo's horn and out projected a long sharp shape of energy. Lopunny fell back into Scizor's arms as Excadrill, Primarina and Durant all yelled out in fright and amazement. The shape morphed itself into the very image of a sword before lowering itself at the still protected Cacturne, the very whites of his eyes reflecting the incredible power. Keldeo then lunged forward, the sword flying forward at an amazing speed and piercing straight through the shield that kept Cacturne protected, shattering it into a hundred pieces. The attack struck Cacturne with the force of a car and sent him flying straight into the wall of the pub, smacking against it with a sickening thud and sliding slowly down. Every single conflict in the pub ground to a halt to see the spectacle that took place before them, the place now deadly silent apart from Keldeo's heavy breathing. He stood back up straight and turned round to Lopunny who's eyes were as large as the moon.

'That's what he gets for putting his hands on you.' Keldeo said, obviously happy she was impressed.

'You are...' Lopunny couldn't find the words to describe him. Her hand was on her heart and she stepped forward, loosening from Scizor's grip. '...Insane! That was insane. What was that?'

'I'll tell you soon.' Keldeo said. 'Where are we going?'

'Uhhhh..' Scizor had no idea what to say next. He had a dumb expression on his face which was staring at the space between Keldeo and Lopunny. Luckily, Excadrill came to his rescue.

'Just half a mile north from here.' he said, grabbing on to Scizor's shoulder. 'There's a small outpost that we can stop at and draw up some plans.'

'Yeah.' Scizor nodded, coming back to his senses. 'What he said.'

'I'd say he was a prickly customer.' Excadrill nodded at the unconscious Cacturne while nudging Primarina. 'Get it? Cos he's a...cactus?' The reception to his joke was so unbearably awkward that Primarina ended up looking just sorry for him. 'Ah forget it.'

One by one, they all trooped out. Keldeo and Lopunny first who were still staring at each other in disbelief, followed by Excadrill and Primarina who was muttering something about dirt on her back. Scizor was about to go before Durant crawled to his side chuckling.

'What?'

'The boy may be a bit of a pussy but that wasn't too bad.' he said dryly. 'You couldn't do something like that in a million years!'

'Yeah thanks.' Scizor muttered, his eyes narrow. 'It was cool and all but we don't have a clue what he is really capable of. We should be cautious.'

'That's not the only thing yer worried about is it?' Durant said, trying to wind Scizor up further. He got no response from him as Scizor continued his walk straight ahead to the door with Durant in close pursuit, every now and then shooting a glare at anyone who was looking at him. The door shut behind him and the pub broke out into conversation. The Marshtomp that Durant had tried to bully wiped his forehead with his newspaper and turned to the defeated looking pub owner.

'Well sorry about all that old chap!'

'It's okay. I've seen my fair share of pub brawls.' the raticate sighed, drawing out a brush and shovel from underneath his sink which, in the state the pub was left in, was like trying to put back together a priceless artifact with blue tac. 'Never seen a move like that used before though.'

'Oh for sure.' Marshtomp laughed, opening his paper up again. 'How powerful was that!? He won't be getting up for a while.' He pointed at the still comatose Cacturne.

'That's if he's still alive.' Raticate muttered wryly, leaning over and sweeping up some debris. Marshtomp's eyes widened.

'Oh my, you're right now that I think about it.' He leaned forward closely, examining the body and remembering how that attack had shattered the shield as if it was glass. 'I have a friend who has links to those interested in the science of pokemon moves and how to use them to their best potential. I should give him a call.'

'You do that.' Raticate said blankly as Marshtomp took out his communicator, wondering what kind of mental friends would try and use a move such as that to its full potential. _This desert is all kinds of messed up_ , Raticate thought, picking up a shard of glass that was soaked in crimson blood.

* * *

 **Authors Notes**

 **Just want to give this shout out to my best friend in the whole world. I'm writing this with you in my mind after everything that's happened. I hope you love this story as much as I love you, and I promise that I will see you very soon. You know where I am if you need me.**


	7. Chapter Six: Broken Arrow

**Chapter Six: Broken Arrow**

To many a pokemon, it was a more unusual experience in life to see a mysterious creature perform a feat of unknown origin and incredible power to protect a group of rowdy companions he had just met, with two of them having chased him prior and another even physically attacking him. It seemed to go a long way with Lopunny, who was still counting her blessings that Keldeo had stepped up to the mark. Not only did it show her how brave he could be and what incredible abilities he possessed but it also managed to upstage Scizor slightly. This was something that really pleased both Keldeo and Lopunny, the latter for purely petty reasons. She stood with a smile on her face on the edge of a rocky gorge, overseeing the vast wasteland in front of her as the others fetched water from a small stream to her left. The little settlement was only about two hundred metres away from where they were but the walk to the water felt like an eternity. Already the heat was beating down on Lopunny, causing her to sweat from every single part of her body. She could hear Primarina complaining about something but she managed to zone it out. _It's actually quite a nice view_ , Lopunny thought, staring out at the miles of orange sand and dust that seemed to stretch on to infinity. _Despite the relative dread of more heat exposure as well as having to share a search party with that insufferable sea lion, it promises to be an interesting experience._

'Hey.'

Lopunny turned to her right where the voice came from but could see nothing.

'Down here.'

'Oh right.' Lopunny noticed Excadrill popping his upper body out from the earth. 'What are you doing?'

'Oh just mapping out potential escape routes.' Excadrill shrugged, some dirt covering his face. 'You do remember-'

'Escape routes?' Lopunny faced him, tweaking her ear. 'What do you mean?'

'Just if something goes wrong.' Excadrill said, throwing his hands up and spraying muck on Lopunny's feet. 'It's a precaution. It means I can escape to places nobody else can.'

'And abandon us?' Lopunny asked, her voice attempting to come across as aggressive but ending up coming across comically high.

'Well...' Excadrill shifted from side to side in his hole. 'Technically yeah but it is a last resort thing!'

Lopunny was tempted to argue more but realized the process would be pointless and would only create more tension. She let go of her ear and shrugged, looking to appear as if it didn't really faze her.

'What was it you were here to say?

'I was just asking if you did remember me.' Excadrill said, his eyes looking rather hopeful.

'I do.' Lopunny nodded. 'Excadrill. Friend of Scizor's and boy did you expose some questionable truths about him.'

'Aha yeah.' Excadrill looked rather shifty. 'Sorry about that. I did rescue you both remember.'

'I know.' Lopunny said, picking up a small stone and throwing it off the gorge. 'To which I am grateful for.'

'You are? Lopunny was rather startled by Excadrill's apparent surprise.

'Well yeah!' Lopunny laughed, her head shaking slightly. 'If it wasn't for you then me and Scizor would be...' She trailed off, shuddering to think of what they would have ended up as if Excadrill hadn't come in the nick of time. 'I am thankful. A great deal.'

'It's just that words like that really make me feel good.' Excadrill said. Lopunny watched as he pushed his arms downwards, bringing his lower body out of the squelching mud and plopping his feet down on the solid ground. Lopunny was surprised to realize that she was actually slightly taller than Excadrill, considering how broad he was. Even more surprising to her was the look of shame that seemed to etch itself on to Excadrill's face as they came close to each other.

'Between you and me,' Excadrill lowered his nasally voice to a soft murmur. 'I have real issues with...'

Lopunny closed her eyes slightly as Excadrill looked around, appearing to lose his words.

'Bravery?' Lopunny tried to answer for him. 'You seemed to handle yourself fine back there.' She pointed back at the distant bar. 'More than fine! Amazing! Look at you go, that pokemon won't be coming back there in a hurry!'

Excadrill smiled weakly at Lopunny's words of encouragement but dismissed them shortly after with a shake of his head.

'Not bravery.' he said. 'More like...anxiety.'

'You have anxiety?' Lopunny's voice was more sincere than ever, her hand shifting upwards to clasp it on Excadrill's shoulder.

'I always have trouble initiating the beginning of conflict.' Excadrill explained, his claws tapping against each other rather childishly. 'I mean once I'm in the thick of it I'm fine but the indecisiveness and trepidation I feel when preparing for battle can be overwhelming.' He shuffled his leg out of the black earth, some of it crumbling off the edge. 'It took me ages to muster up the courage to fight off that Nidoqueen for you two. Even back over there, I was glad that Durant threw the first attack so that I didn't have to.'

Lopunny rubbed Excadrill on the shoulder, her face sympathetic.

'You don't have to be ashamed.' she said kindly, bringing Excadrill into a close embrace. 'Here's a secret for you. I may have said to Scizor that I could handle anything that Shan'rala throws at me but I am sure glad that I have you and him alongside me cos I know it is gonna overwhelm me at times.' Her hand rubbed against the back of Excadrill's head softly. 'I just fly in with everything I got. They don't expect a pokemon who looks like me to do much so that really catches them off guard.'

'I guess it's just a product of the war.' Excadrill said, the two of them separating from the hug but their hands still resting on each others shoulders. 'There were so many times I found myself certain to die but managed to escape the jaws of death with seconds to spare. It makes me constantly wonder when my luck will run out and I pick a fight with someone who ends up landing the final blow for sure. So I gotta stay cautious you know?' He gestured down below at his finely dug hole that seemed to lead into a network of similar channels.

'I getcha.' Lopunny nodded, finally warming up to Excadrill. 'Besides, I'm sure your wife must be worried sick with you always on the move.'

At this moment, Excadrill seemed to fidget worse than ever. Lopunny stared at him as he tried to pass it off as scratching an itch on his arm. Was it something I said? she thought, watching his eyes darting closely.

'Ah yeah.' Excadrill mumbled, still picking at his brown fur. 'You could say she is.'

Voices began to make themselves more heard from behind Lopunny, a particularly shrill one signifying the end of the conversation and moving to a less insightful one.

'Oh great.' Lopunny tutted, turning to see Primarina appearing from the stream with Keldeo trotting close behind her. Primarina had seemed to have cheered up a little bit compared to earlier since she discovered there was actual water nearby but she retained the same snobby expression on her face.

'It's adequate.' Primarina said, stopping sharply in front of Lopunny and causing Keldeo to almost bump into her. 'The water. I'm assuming loads of pokemon drink from it every day but it's fresh enough.'

'Arceus forbid everyone else wanting some.' Lopunny rolled her eyes. Primarina furrowed her brows.

'I was going to ask why you weren't going to get some but then I realized you'll have an inexhaustible supply.' Primarina nodded at the side of Lopunny's head where a huge bead of sweat was slowly creeping down her face without her noticing. 'It's flattering.'

'Go fuck yourself.' Lopunny muttered, wiping away the sweat with the back of her hand. 'Usually sweat is the sign of hard work. Says an awful lot about you.'

'And I thought we had finally managed to ease you into this whole scenario.' said Excadrill, looking at Primarina and trying to keep things upbeat.

'Me?' Primarina exclaimed. 'I'm just stating the facts. If we have to work together we need to tell the truth.'

'Tell the truth as well as listen and respect one another.' This statement came from Keldeo of all pokemon. Lopunny, Excadrill and Primarina all whipped round to look at him with Primarina rendered speechless. Lopunny beamed.

'What he said.' Lopunny winked at Keldeo, once again sending his brain and heart in a whirl. He just could not cope with such gorgeousness treating him with the most respect possible. 'You're just an absolute gem you are.'

'Lady Lopunny, I'm just trying to bring you guys together.' Keldeo said modestly. 'One of the most important thing I've learned so far is that supporting another's victories will not hinder your own. So always try and be kind.'

There was an inaudible muttering from Primarina but Lopunny and Excadrill were so wrapped up in Keldeo's teachings that they paid no attention.

'It's what Cobalion told me.' Keldeo concluded.

'Cobalion?' Lopunny raised an eyebrow.

'Oh he's my team leader.' Keldeo told them. 'There's four of us in the Swords of Justice.'

Lopunny snapped her fingers suddenly, startling Excadrill.

'That reminds me.' she said, Keldeo continuing to ogle her. 'you should tell us what your teammates are like so we know what to look out for.'

'Ah of course.' Keldeo nodded. 'So Cobalion is our leader. He looks a bit like me except he's much bigger, has two gold horns on his head and white fur on his chest. He's the bravest pokemon I've ever known and always prioritizes the safety of civilians and the eradication of chaos above all else.'

'I'm guessing he's your biggest inspiration.' Lopunny smiled to which Keldeo nodded.

'You bet.' Keldeo affirmed before continuing. 'Another member is Terrakion. He's the biggest and strongest of us, his body is brown and low to the ground while his horns poke out of his head similar to the shape of pincers. Terrakion can shift almost anything from it's spot and has stamina to last him an entire day of hard work without stop. Don't let his appearance intimidate you though, he has a heart of gold.'

'Can he dig his way out of a tight spot though?' Excadrill pointed at Keldeo. 'Doubt it.'

'Probably won't need to!' Keldeo chortled, his spirit visibly rising every second he got to talk about his friends. 'Last but not least there is Virizion. He's tall, green and very handsome. Quite the flirt too and a little bit full of himself but he's a brilliant warrior and tactician.'

'Yay.' Primarina muttered, her lip curling. 'More overconfident jackasses.'

'I gather they'll be travelling all together?' Lopunny was memorizing all these descriptions in her head. 'Should notice them straight away.'

'Oh yeah.' Primarina nodded, turning and staring at the grim eternity that was the Shan'rala desert, the sky and ground conjuring a vivid orange and teal contrast that just screamed mystery and foreboding. 'Straight away...'

* * *

'Are you done yet?'

Durant's gnarly voice was muffled and almost inaudible due to the four berries he had crammed into his mouth with his large pincers, still soaked with Cacturne's blood. He had yelled over at Scizor, who was crouched to the right of him, his scarlet head facing the pool of dark water that rested at the bottom of the small canyon they had submerged into. Scizor didn't answer. In fact he hadn't actually done anything to really conjure a response to Durant's question. All he was focused on was his reflection shimmering in the bright water, his image distorted slightly but managing to hide the many instances of damage that had been inflicted on his face in the past few years. Scizor was still for a few more seconds before reaching down and scooping up a clawful of water and splashing it on his face. The friction caused in the pool send a blur of red in different directions and Scizor slowly lowered his hands, his orange eyes staring straight ahead at the cracked brown wall keeping the water from flowing freely into the terrain.

'Oi.'

Durant had come up really close to him, Scizor's personal space being somewhat violated but Durant unaware of it. Scizor blinked rapidly to get the water out of his eyes and looked at his old teacher.

'What's the matter?'

'Oh nothing.' Scizor said, shrugging his shoulders. Durant frowned.

'You ain't still hung up about the drippy goat showing you up in front of that wench?'

The untrue and politically incorrect remark almost forced a smile on Scizor's face but he shook his head instead, mostly to conceal the humour he found in the statement.

'No no.'

Durant raised his eyes slightly and looked down at Scizor, similar to a look Primarina would usually give.

'Well good.' he sniffed. 'Call me old fashioned...'

'No shit.' Scizor smirked.

'But I think mingling with those darn normal types spells nothin' apart from trouble.' Durant concluded.

'Well...' Scizor murmured, glancing back down at the water. '...I guess you could say that.'

Durant said nothing for a few seconds, appearing to try and figure out what Scizor was hinting at. Eventually, the realization hit him.

'Aw fuck.' Durant scowled, his abdomen slowly rising upwards like a scorpion preparing to sting. 'Don't tell me you and the rabbit have had something?'

'Ha. Sorry to let you down.' Scizor snorted, shielding his eyes as the sunlight bounced off the water into his face. 'She's not the only non-Shan'rala girl I've been with. Not my type you know.'

'I will try and hide my contempt,' Durant rumbled, ignoring the tiny berry pieces falling out of his mouth every time he spoke. 'but I reckon you're better off pursuing no wench. They ain't nothing but trouble.'

'And here is me thinking the reason for your unmarried life is down to other reasons.' Scizor turned back to Durant, scrutinising him closely. 'Who would have thought?'

'That's correct, I avoided them.' Durant said proudly before going off on a tangent. 'I mean I've lived in Shan'rala all my life and never once have I decided to let myself be the slave to a woman. As you can see, I've turned out fine both physically and...'

Durant stopped where he was, his eyes darting curiously while Scizor watched perplexed.

'What's the word?' Durant whispered, leaning closer to Scizor.

'Mentally.' Scizor told him, shaking his head. 'Definitely not verbally in your case.'

'Exactly.' said Durant. 'So don't chase them.'

'They chase me.' Scizor smirked, his feet sliding out from underneath him and planting his behind on the ground so the two were eye level. 'It would lead to problems in the long run though.'

'So that's why you stopped with her?' Durant nodded in an upward direction, indicating Lopunny. 'Afraid of the future?'

'I'm not afraid of anything anymore.' Scizor said. His voice came out so quickly that he was certain Durant was going to catch him out as being untruthful so he moved on. 'I was just thinking of something interesting.'

'Hmm?'

Scizor pointed his arm backwards.

'There used to be pokemon with ambition in this desert. Those that wanted to make a name for themselves, who wouldn't try and start trouble in a bar just for the sake of it and instead pursue something worthwhile. After the Shan'rala-Rylus peace treaty was signed there was so much potential for warriors and mercenaries who had come back as war heroes to really write their names in the history books but there has been absolutely nothing of worth. There's something the matter.'

Durant nodded slowly while Scizor let out a deep breath.

'Durant, you couldn't fully recover from the war with Rylus could you?' Scizor said, his eyes piercing his mentor. Durant didn't bother trying to deny anything here and exhaled a sigh.

'I'm surprised anyone did.' he said, his expression now sorrowful. 'The things I saw. What I went through. I used my dead mates as shields to avoid the fiery breath of a zealot lizard thing and only just managed to survive. Could drive anyone crazy.'

'Not me.' Scizor muttered, his foot circling the water. 'I always had faith in my abilities. You taught me well when he...when nobody else would.'

'That I did.' Durant said, appearing the most respectful he had been the full day. 'I remember the day we first met like it was yesterday. The little scyther boy, running around confused and tearful-'

'Durant I don't want to talk about it.' Scizor was shaking his head, his mouth tight and pursed. 'I don't.'

'In that case,' Durant drew himself up tall. 'don't speak about that war then. It may not have affected you in such ways but you ended up not being powerless. Some of us were.'

'Yeah?' Scizor's nodded rather sardonically. 'Well I got a reality check recently.' He stood up and looked across the water and upwards at the bright yellow sun. 'A few months ago, me and a group of forced friends came into battle with a creature with the power of a thousand pokemon. What could I do against it? Nothing. I threw pots, pans, wood at this thing, nothing would even leave a scratch on it. The only reason we won is just by luck, another powerful being sacrificed himself to save the day. I may have been able to take apart dragon after dragon but against Giratina?' Scizor lowered his head and shoulders, staring at his reflection once again. 'I knew what I was. An insect fighting a god.'

Durant had seen Scizor's claws tighten hard as he had spoke. The wind whistled overhead and another rush of cold wind split the ever present heat. Slowly, Durant crawled up right beside Scizor while mindful of his space. It took a few moments before Scizor looked down at his old teacher, his face rather stricken.

'I guess some things we fight in life are beyond any of our abilities.' said Durant in his rough voice. 'You won but. That's what is important and you will fight another day.'

'Puts things into perspective though.' Scizor said, his body rigid. 'I realized a long time ago that I wasn't invincible but never had I felt so powerless.'

'You know,' said Durant, his body matching Scizor's for visible wear. 'it's easier for everyone, including yourself, to admit you're not alright from the start.'

Scizor said nothing. Durant was correct in this matter. He had already been told before of the importance of straight up telling the truth by none other than Lopunny herself. It would end up digging a deeper hole for him by itself. At the present moment, Scizor felt a hint of restriction in his windpipe, making his breathing seem a bit more erratic. He slowly placed his claw on his chest, attempting to pass this off as subtly as he could, working silently to control his intake of oxygen.

'What are you doing?' Durant asked him, taking notice of how uncomfortable Scizor looked. He waved it off and took his hand off his pectorals, straightening up and turning to Durant, whose expression was that of perplexion.

'Nothing. I was just...' Scizor was biting his tongue, trying not to force out a lie. He really didn't feel himself but at the same time, he did not want to bring his problems into the forefront of an already testy time for the group. '...We got any drinks?'

'Drinks?' Durant's voice cracked slightly. 'We just had water!'

'I mean alcohol.' Scizor explained, nodding back at the top of the canyon. 'You know? In case boredom strikes.'

'I see...' Durant slowly nodded. Scizor started pointing back to the route they came.

'Anyway, I feel refreshed. We should get a move on.'

Scizor beckoned for Durant to come. No sooner had Durant moved his front feet forward, Scizor whipped round and began to travel up the hill at a very brisk pace, leaving the old timer in his wake. Durant shook his head and grimaced, perfectly aware of what Scizor was up to. _You think I'm old and paranoid_ , he thought, watching Scizor's tall frame disappear behind a brown boulder. _But I can read you like a book, boy._

* * *

'ECHO!'

'Stop that!' Lopunny slapped her hands against her ears and grimaced in response to Excadrill's actions. He stood on the edge of the gorge, his claws cupped around his mouth and bellowing at the sky. The reverberations around the empty wasteland were paying particular damage to Lopunny's gigantic ears but even that didn't stop the mischievous mole.

'ECHOO!' Excadrill yelled again, his voice rumbling Lopunny's eardrums

'I'm not going to tell you again.' Lopunny pulled her ears over her head in an attempt to shut everything out.

'I never realized how loud I could get!' Excadrill turned to look at her, Primarina and Keldeo with a wide grin. 'Oh sorry!' He put his hand to his mouth when he saw Lopunny as well as Primarina eyeing him with annoyance.

'Well good.' Lopunny tapped her head rather hard to subdue the ringing. 'Besides we shouldn't draw attention to ourselves.' She nodded at Keldeo, who was the only one not bothered by the noise. 'I mean conflict is going to be unavoidable but we should try and limit it.'

'Conflict is going to be what!?' Primarina was startled at this statement. Her eyes began to dart from left to right, looking for a way out.

'Aw jeez, I forgot about you.' Lopunny sighed. 'As much as it pains me to say it, you're sticking with us. We can't have you running back to Tanapas while Keldeo is about.'

'I want to go home...' There was finally a little bit of pity tinged in Primarina's voice which was quickly quashed by Lopunny's rather condescending reply.

'Oh believe me I want you home too.' Lopunny's smug smile was extremely grating.

'What lady Lopunny is trying to say,' Keldeo said, putting his hooves forward. 'is that it is safest to stick with us as we travel through the desert rather than you trying to make your way home by yourself.'

'He ain't wrong.' Excadrill added, rather impressed by Keldeo's adaptability. 'I'd give it less than a day before you got torn apart by bandits when traveling alone.' He realized how awful his sentence sounded after he said it but stood by them. 'Just saying.'

Lopunny nodded, her eyes subtly turning to Keldeo who seemed more and more like he was inclined to prevent the bickering between Lopunny and Primarina. While her feelings of resentment towards Primarina where in no way quashed, it did seem as if it would damage the good work done to bring Keldeo's confidence and friendship with Lopunny. _I'll refrain from the snark_ , Lopunny thought to herself, unable to stop smiling rather wickedly. _For now_.

'Hey!'

The four of them twisted round to the familiar voice of Scizor who was trudging up to them, Durant not too far behind. Scizor's eyes were alight slightly and focused on something other than his companions.

'I might need to pop back to the town.' he said, pointing at said destination behind them. Lopunny blinked in confusion.

'Why?'

'I'm wanting a drink.' Scizor said, putting his hands on his hips.

'What are you talking about?' Lopunny asked before looking over Scizor's shoulder at Durant who was taken aback.

'Don't look at me.' Durant barked, making Keldeo flinch. 'He wasn't craving this shit when I knew him.'

'Are you..?' Lopunny put her foot in her mouth, remembering Keldeo's plea to stop her confrontational nature. 'Scizor, we just had some. What are you doing?'

'We got to go.' Excadrill said, straightening himself up. 'It's gonna get dark in a few hours and we should make as much progress as possible while we still can.'

'Fine by me.' Scizor threw his arms up in the air nonchalantly. 'But if we spy an enemy camp then it's getting raided for the good stuff.'

'We only take stuff from bad guys.' Lopunny warned him, causing Scizor to look back at her with a cocky expression.

'When we're up against it out here,' he waved his hand in the general area of the sun scorched earth. 'everyone is a bad guy. We can't afford to hold back.'

'Everyone!?' Primarina's mouth was totally dry and not even because of the hot wind. She slumped downwards in dismay. Excadrill scrunched up his face a little in sympathy and aimed to pat her on the head.

'There there.'

Primarina recoiled the instant Excadrill's fingers made contact with her skin.

'You've been digging. Remember the rules.' she hissed, Excadrill pulling his hand away quickly with a sheepish expression. Keldeo laughed once more, causing Durant to scrutinize him closely.

'You think this is funny you sprog?' Durant made his way right up to Keldeo's face at a speed that caused Primarina to squeak in terror.

'I...What?' Keldeo was scraping for words, avoiding eye contact with the freaky looking bug.

'This place ain't no playground.' Durant continued to berate him. 'If you get hurt, we ain't waiting about! You're getting left behind!'

'Well no he isn't?' Lopunny said incredulously. 'Our mission revolves entirely around Keldeo. If he gets left behind then it would all be for nothing?'

'...I know!' Durant said, still in his harsh tone of voice. 'It was a trick question.'

'How could it have been a trick question? It wasn't even a question...Oh I give up.' Lopunny sighed and twirled round on one foot, her head flopping backwards in exasperation. Scizor folded his arms and laughed loudly.

'I'm beginning to love this.' he admitted, his eyes flitting from the bored looking Lopunny to the overly moody Primarina. 'If someone was to tell me this morning that this shit would happen to me later, I probably would have laughed and told you to get the fuck away from me.'

'Before or after being sick all over them?' Excadrill leaned forward, his eyebrows raised.

'Probably before.' Scizor retorted. 'Would spare both parties the pain of having you whine like a baby about it.'

There were laughs all round, which Durant didn't even question this time. As the mirth subsided, Lopunny clapped her hands together, the sound magnified by the huge space around them.

'Then let's do this!' she stated loudly. 'Let's waste no time. We gotta get Keldeo back to his friends right away before anything bad happens to us or them. It's not going to be pleasant for some but I truly believe we have what it takes to combat any threat that comes at us. Here we go!'

Lopunny finished her mini speech and looked around at everyone with fiery determination. It was an incredibly awkward silence that permeated the area. Scizor stood still as a statue while Primarina was shuffling her body on the ground, her frame of mind not helped at all. Even Keldeo looked around as if he had no idea what was going on. Lopunny began to sweat even more, her heart racing all the little faster. _Did I do it wrong?_ Suddenly, she looked up at the mighty desert ahead of her and realized what the problem was.

'Uhhh...' she looked at Excadrill sheepishly. 'Where do we start?'

'Oh.' Excadrill seemed to snap out of his apparent stupor. 'I'd recommend that way.' He pointed in the opposite of the town towards a seemingly never ending stretch of yellow sand with only one small cactus on the horizon. 'I remember Keldeo coming to us from this direction when he ran from hunters so it's reasonable to assume that his friends will be that way if they're looking for him.'

'We should ask questions at any settlements or camps we find.' Scizor said, swaggering over to the drop off point on their rocky platform. 'There is bound to be news about three weird looking pokemon skulking around. News travels surprisingly fast for a wasteland.'

'They're not weird looking!' Keldeo said defensively.

'He's trying to wind you up.' Lopunny muttered to him. Scizor stretched his back, his bones cracking loudly and crouched down. His head turned, allowing his handsome face to be seen over his shoulder with a cheeky grin.

'It's good to get back on a proper job.'

With that, Scizor propelled himself sharply off the gorge, causing Primarina to yelp and clap her arms over her eyes. Scizor flipped over in mid air and landed with an explosion of dust on the ground from at least a fifteen feet jump. He straightened back to his feet, shaking his right foot off and looked up at his companions, who were still stood rigid on top of the clifftop.

'Let's goo!' he called out, turning around and beginning his walk. 'You said it yourself Lopunny. No time to waste!'

'Yeah...' Lopunny rubbed her fingers together before edging off to the side of the rock. 'I'm going to take the long way down.'

'Same.' Everyone else said in unison. Lopunny allowed her new allies to walk ahead of her down a winding path that lead to the dusty ground. As Durant slowly crawled past Lopunny on the way down, she raised her hand to her head to wipe a hint of sweat trickling towards her nose.

'Ow!'

She retracted her finger at the sharp pain experienced on her skin. There was a slight blister where she had put her hand, not large enough to be seen but definitely able to increase in size if she was exposed more to the sunlight. Lopunny sighed and hoisted her hood back over her head, knowing that she needed to bite the bullet and be uncomfortable than suffer third degree burns. _Alright then_ , she thought, her eyes fixed on Keldeo, the entire purpose of why she was setting out on this journey. _This is going to be tricky_.

* * *

'Pretty fuckin' dope isn't it?'

Hoodwink stood with his hands behind his back and admiring his many huge weapons lined up against the wall of the large, dimly lit hall. Each one was different in appearance but all carrying the same crude and rough design and craftsmanship. He looked to his left at Bisharp, who had his sharp claw gently caressing one of the missiles with a customary blank expression.

'Best not to touch them.' Hoodwink called out. Bisharp slowly twisted his head to respond.

'They not switched off?'

'That's the thing,' Hoodwink shrugged as if the whole issue wasn't worth fixing. 'I don't know.'

'This place is a death trap.' Bisharp scoffed, swiping his arm away from the bomb. Hoodwink watched as Bisharp investigated another set of weapons on the other side of the room, clearly relishing how much Bisharp was ogling his work.

'Oh that shit is unreal.' Hoodwink came right beside Bisharp, who had picked up a device that looked like a mine and was holding it in his silver hands. 'Plant them in any terrain. Has a standard blast radius of around fifty metres and able to tear through just about surface.' He scowled for a second. 'With a few exceptions.'

'Like what?' asked Bisharp curiously. Hoodwink stretched back in apparent thought, his eyes rolling back ever so slightly.

'The only untampered substances are Syptanium and the bodies of pokemon like Gigalith, Steelix and Shuckle. Obviously moves like protect and detect help.' Hoodwink listed them off his fingers. 'I guess it hasn't affected the legendary Regirock either but I was told that off some old explorer. Probably drunk off his ass.'

'What do you mean untampered?' Bisharp eyed him with intent.

'Untampered as in nothins' been done to them.' Hoodwink explained. 'For example, them rocks that make up Rylus Mountain are covered by some sort of forcefield. It's why nobody could do any damage to it in the war, it's some dragon magic bullshit and no explosive ever affected it.' He mimed several actions with his hands resembling a large object smashing into a flat platform. 'Fuck knows what it is. Probably some ancient...space...whatever.'

'You know,' Bisharp placed the mine back down where he picked it up from and looked at his new boss. 'you don't talk like any businessman or inventor I have ever met.'

Hoodwink laughed rather obnoxiously.

'I'm guessing you're more familiar with those pricks coming from Tanapas or Giruphin?' he asked Bisharp.

'I guess so.'

'That doesn't surprise me.' Hoodwink's smile turned to a cold glare. 'The products that everyone in Charom wants are produced anywhere but Shan'rala. Those city dwellers?' he pointed to his left, indicating the direction of Tanapas City. 'They think we're all savages. They think their shit is better than ours.'

'Well what are you comparing them to?' Bisharp asked, examining another explosive, this one shaped like a rocket. 'I don't know many other businesses in Charom dealing in materials as dangerous as these ones.' A piece from the bomb he was holding suddenly slid off and clattered to the floor which alarmed Bisharp before he realized that nothing was going to happen. '...Or as flimsy.' he added under his breath.

'The fact that the effort we put in to make our products trumps theirs. Look around you.' Hoodwink gestured universally at everything around him. 'I make it no secret that these babies are made from scratch with the bare minimum parts. That's what makes my workers better than any in Tanapas or Giruphin. Everything is handed on a plate to them while we do the dirty work to make our way in life. Hence why you're here.' He threw his hands out in front of him indicating to Bisharp. 'I mean you seem skilled enough but if you think this place is a death trap then wait til you get out on the desert plains.'

'Oh I know all about it.' Bisharp replied almost instantly. 'I once worked as a mercenary. Took on all sorts of tasks, always came out on top.'

'That explains that then.' Hoodwink pointed at Bisharp's chest where his armour plated body was visibly damaged. Bisharp recoiled slightly, taken aback by Hoodwink's perception.

'This is...different.' Bisharp admitted, resenting bringing back the memories of his defeat to Gallade. 'My opponent got a few lucky shots in. If it was a straight fight to the death with no holds barred, I would have killed him in seconds.' He noticed a piece of his metal chest sticking out awkwardly. He pushed it back in place, clenching his teeth tightly as the pain seared through his body. 'But I counted the costs and learned a valuable lesson that day. Never let go of an opportunity to exterminate pests.'

'That is good insight.' Hoodwink raised his eyebrows, leaning against one of his rockets casually with no care in the world. 'Yeah I'd be mad too if someone I knew I could beat the shit out ended up fucking my body up after I hesitated for a second too long.'

The look on Bisharp's face was enough to let Hoodwink know that the conversation needed to be diverted as fast as possible.

'Uh so you and Nidoqueen.' Hoodwink ushered the words out his mouth, his expression flustered.

'What about me and Nidoqueen?' Bisharp hissed, his face changing back to expressionless but his eyes telling a different and scarier story.

'Like, what's your story?' Hoodwink's eyes then widened. 'You two aren't-'

'No we are not.' Bisharp cut across him before Hoodwink's inquiry could be fully structured. 'We just work together. Forced acquaintances if you like.'

'So nobody on the go then?' Hoodwink pointed 'finger guns' at Bisharp in an attempt to get back in the good books. It ended up making things slightly worse.

'No I do not have anyone on the go.' Bisharp emphasized the last three words with a mocking disdain. He turned away from Hoodwink, his head beginning to lower. '...Not anymore.'

Hoodwink was surprised to notice the coarse emotion in Bisharp's voice and body language. He wondered whether this would make him more or less efficient at doing his jobs, if his relationship with his new boss was already taking fraying. _This could work out well in my favor_ , Hoodwink thought, still not moving from his current position. _I just need to play my cards right_.

'Sir! Sir!'

The squeaky voice echoed through the weapons hall. Hoodwink turned round to see who was calling him and had to duck quickly to avoid the overexcited Zubat whizz over his head at a blinding speed.

'Sorry!' Zubat could not control his wings in the hurry he was in and yelled out to Hoodwink who was looking up from the ground bewildered. 'I just can't seem to-'

Zubat halted instantly with a spluttering noise. Bisharp had reached out without looking and seized him tightly around the throat, ceasing his manic ascent. Hoodwink let out a small chortle and approached the two of them, Bisharp slowly releasing the suffocating Zubat.

'Calm down.' Bisharp warned him as Zubat gasped for air. 'Now what is up?'

'Sorry Mr...Bisharp.' Zubat coughed. 'It's just...an agent out in the field. He was informed of something that was seen out in the midlands.'

'What was it?' asked Hoodwink, folding his arms.

'His source claims,' Zubat told them both who were listening with alert expressions. 'that a bar fight initiated inside one of the locals produced some staggering results.'

'Oh was it another trapinch getting mouthy with guys bigger than him?' Hoodwink rolled his eyes. 'As if we haven't seen enough of that already.'

'No not that.' said Zubat, his unsteady wings keeping him aloft. 'Sir, apparently it was there. The enigma.'

'It was?' Hoodwink unfolded his arms and stepped forward, his eyes hungry. 'And?'

'Well apparently it's power is more than we ever thought.' Zubat explained. 'According to his source, it shattered a Cacturne's spiky shield as if it was nothing.'

Hoodwink stared at Zubat in silence, his fingers waggling in excitement. He put his fist to his mouth and bit down on his knuckles. Bisharp watched this happen with a mix of perplexion and interest. _What could it be that they were talking about_?

'Where was this place did you say?' Hoodwink asked, relieving his mouth of his own hand.

'Mid section of the desert.' said Zubat, nodding at a nearby map on the wall. 'Reports say they're still in the area.'

'What are we waiting for? Get back out on the field and scout further!' Hoodwink shouted, startling Zubat. He nodded at Bisharp. 'You're going. I'll send one of my men to drive you and Nidoqueen out to the destination.'

'Wait hang on.' Bisharp shook his head. 'You haven't told me anything. What am I doing? Am I searching for something?'

'A couple of days ago there were reports of a strange energy signature. Blue in colour.' Hoodwink explained to him as Zubat flew haphazardly out of the hazardous room. 'Was hoping it would be able to utilize an exothermic reaction in one of my shells. Just my luck then.' He then let out a rather sinister giggle. 'To the uneducated, I say I'm a researcher who is interested in the science of pokemon moves when really it's all for going boom!'

'What a time to be alive.' Bisharp said sardonically, watching the scrafty pull out his communicator and begin yammering into it. 'The first thing you want to do with an all new source of power? See if you can blow things up with it.'

'Why you complaining? At least you're getting some work now.' Hoodwink said, midway through his talk on the device. 'Nidoqueen, get your ass down here. I got a job for you which I'm sure you'll love.'

Hoodwink tapped his communicator and shut it down, turning to Bisharp with a satisfied smirk.

'Your job is to receive samples of this things substance release.' He realized how disgusting his statement sounded right after he said it. 'I mean find traces and bring it back to me.'

'Or just capture said pokemon if I find it?'

'Even better!' Hoodwink clapped Bisharp on his solid shoulder, accidentally hurting his hand. 'If you bring back this pokemon it means I can siphon whatever amazing power it has and forge some absolutely insane bad boys. You are going to make me a very rich man and you can...' He swished his hand about in a disorientating fashion in front of Bisharp's face. '...I don't know, get revenge on a few enemies?'

Bisharp shrugged his shoulders, his expression classically blank.

'Maybe.' he said flatly, his ears pricking up at the sound of Nidoqueen's feet stomping their way from outside.

'Or is that her thing?' Hoodwink pointed at the door, acknowledging her incoming presence. 'Either way, we're all gonna get what we want.' He winked and clicked his fingers at Bisharp. 'This is going to be a whole load of fun.'

As Hoodwink strolled up to the door to meet Nidoqueen, Bisharp stood with one arm slumped by his side, the other slowly feeling up his ravaged body. He remembered the moment vividly. When Gallade smited him straight in his organs and was seconds away from killing him on the spot. It had shaken him to the core. Made him change up his entire style of approaching situations. The whole process of meeting Hoodwink would have probably went a lot differently if it had never happened. His hatred for Gallade and the Shining Beacons burned deep inside his heart, his longing to take vengeance on them only halted by his severely weakened state. _Revenge does sound good_ , he thought, his grip on his breastplate tightening. _However, I think my idea for this plan will maybe make things right._


	8. Chapter Seven: Fuel To The Fire

**Chapter Seven: Fuel To The Fire**

A leaf, probably the last piece of plant life in the area, gently floated along the bronze ground, carried along by the breeze. It laid to rest above a small rock and from a distance, it was eyed by a pair of orange eyes attached to a head that had popped out from the earth. The little wurmple stretched, his body slowly but surely emerging out of the sand with a popping sound. Wurmple slowly wriggled his way over to the leaf, his mouth salivating at the sight of it although not as much as he'd like thanks to the harsh twilight sun. He trapped it on the terrain with the lower half of his body, instantly gorging on the nutritious green and chewing hard and fast. As he enjoyed his lunch, there was a cracking sound, alerting Wurmple and slowing his eating process down just enough for him to focus on where the noise was coming from. He was wary now. He couldn't see anything in front of anything despite the clear plains in front of him. The cracking noise happened again, this time much louder, giving Wurmple a clear indication of where it was coming from...

CRUNCH!

A burst of earth detonated from underneath Wurmple, startling him and causing the chewed up leaf to fly out his mouth. His scream was quickly stifled by the large grey bug that had scrambled out the ground clamping his powerful jaws around him. They both started thrashing around, Wurmple attempting to escape from the grip, his captor trying to swallow him whole like the insane pokemon he was.

'Durant! Stop!'

Durant halted where he was with Wurmple dangling out his mouth, the tiny worm sweating profusely. Running over to the scene were Lopunny and Excadrill, both with their arms outstretched and their expressions pleading. Durant stared at them both, his eyes bulging out of their sockets.

'Stop. Put him down.' Lopunny slowly said in the same tone of voice she would use if she was training a dog. 'Now.'

Durant looked at his prey, making him appear cross-eyed. Wurmple gasped for breath, his boneless body clenched tight within the powerful jaw of Durant who after much thought, slowly opened his mouth and let the red little bug slide out, drenched in saliva. He plopped onto the ground and turned upright, out of breath and shaking.

'Sorry.' Lopunny clasped her hands together apologetically. Excadrill reached down, plucking the half eaten leaf off the ground and presenting it to Wurmple. He slowly craned forward and took it, still apprehensive of Durant. With that, Wurmple nodded his head quickly and burrowed back into his little hole in the dirt, away from the three pokemon. Lopunny turned to stare at Durant incredulously.

'What the fuck is wrong with you?'

'I was hungry.' Durant said in a matter of fact tone. 'A wurmple contains much more iron and protein than any berry so it would be beneficial to all of us.'

'You say that like you've eaten them before...' Lopunny's eyes widened in horror. 'Oh no.' She looked at Excadrill for clarification. 'You do this too?'

'Well...' Excadrill scratched the back of his head. '...To an extent.'

'To an extent?' Lopunny put her hands on her hips. 'What does that mean?'

'Never ate them raw.' Excadrill explained, glancing in disapproval at Durant. 'I cooked mine. I'm not a savage.'

'I can't believe this.' Lopunny dragged her hand over her face, her fur stretching. 'I'm so glad Primarina isn't here right now. We'd never hear the end of it.'

'Speaking of which,' Excadrill slid one of his claws across the other, making a squeaking scraping sound. 'I'm going to check what they're up to in that cave and map potential escape routes.'

'Still not really comfortable with the fact that you can abandon us at any time.' Lopunny smiled wryly, shielding her face from an incoming whirl of sand.

'What do you take me for?' Excadrill lowered his upper body, his claws preparing to dig. 'I know the difference between can and will.'

'Wait, what?' Before Lopunny could really comprehend what Excadrill said, he had torn up the ground at a blinding speed and vanished out of sight. Lopunny skipped over to the mound of dirt that had been produced and peered into Excadrill's escape route, wondering how on earth someone could travel that quickly through such tough terrain.

'Oi!' Durant snapped at her. 'You know it's rude to put your head in a mans hole.'

'I...' _It's too easy_ , Lopunny thought, her inner voice adopting an exasperated tone. 'You have a cheek to talk about rudeness. You still haven't told me who you are anyway?'

'I'm Durant. That's it.' Durant snorted, the two facing each other in the blazing plains.

'You say you taught Scizor everything you know.' Lopunny said, hoisting her cloak over her shoulders more as it had slipped down. 'So you go back a long time?'

'Many years.' Durant told her. 'I met him when he was just a young scyther. A boy in fact.'

'What was he like?' Lopunny said, her voice softer and approaching Durant closer. He appeared to be deep in thought, trying to find the right words to describe such a man.

'Well he's lucky that is for sure.' he eventually came out with.

'Meaning?'

'He found me.' Durant began to explain, Lopunny listening with intent. 'One day when he was running away from home. Not for the first time either.'

'Really?' Lopunny tilted her head to the side in curiosity. 'Why did he keep doing that?'

Durant suddenly snapped his pincers menacingly, startling Lopunny and once again separating them by distance further.

'What was that for!?' Lopunny shouted at Durant, her hands semi-raised in a combat pose.

'Mind yer own business, rabbit.' Durant snarled, his scary eyes narrowed. 'That's up to him to tell you. Guessing yer little relationship can't have meant too much if he didn't tell you himself.'

'Okay now that's something that you should mind your own business about.' Lopunny drew herself up taller.

'Well did he?' Durant asked her. Lopunny opened her mouth to respond but slowly stopped where she was. Her eyes were set vaguely on the ground as her mind tried to scrape back memories of Scizor telling her about his past yet she could find none. Lopunny gave up and clenched her teeth, Durant tapping his front right foot in boredom.

'No he didn't.' she said eventually, shrinking down like a deflating balloon. 'He told me nothing about his life. Apart from that he was a mercenary and was born in a violent surrounding. He didn't even tell me that he was initially hired to kidnap me the first time we met.'

Durant let out an inappropriate laugh.

'Oh that is priceless!'

'Cut that out right now!' Lopunny yelled angrily, her fists clenching. Durant shook his head and urged her to calm down.

'Scizor has never been one for being open.' he said flatly. Lopunny snorted.

'Oh really?' she said sarcastically. She lowered her arms and pulled her cloak back up. 'It's clear that there's one thing you never taught him then.'

'And what's that?' Durant said rather dangerously. It didn't faze Lopunny.

'To grow the hell up.' On that remark, Lopunny swished her cloak over her shoulder and marched away from Durant. The old insect glared in her direction for a few more seconds, wondering if she even knew where Scizor and the others had scoped out for a resting place before he began sniffing the ground again, seeing if that little Wurmple had finished his lunch.

* * *

Scizor knelt down, one knee on the filthy cave floor and stretched his arms out far away from his own body. He swished one forearm downwards and the rock held in his pincer scraped hard off the one in his other hand. In one try, Scizor had emitted a shower of sparks that ignited the small pile of wood he had gathered and lit up the dark cavern. While obviously pleased with his work, Scizor quickly backtracked from the quickly lapping flames. After all, fire was his biggest weakness.

'Nice work Sir Scizor.' Keldeo said, looking in admiration at the fire.

'Why thank you.' Scizor said spiritedly, dropping the two stones to the ground. Behind the both of them, Primarina had cleared away a large amount of sand from the ground and plopped herself on the driest and least dirty part of the ground, her eyes staring wistfully at the fire and frustratedly contemplating shifting from our new spot.

'Can you bring that over?' Primarina asked Scizor loudly, who looked at her baffled.

'Can I pick that fire up and drop it in front of you?' he said sardonically, pointing down at his new source of warmth. 'Oh yeah of course I can with my magma armor. No I can't! You come over here if you want it.'

'You know,' Primarina scowled, slowly shifting from her spot and over to Scizor and Keldeo. 'You aren't nearly as nice as I thought you'd be.'

'Never meet your heroes eh?' shrugged Scizor as Keldeo shifted to the side to allow Primarina in the middle of them.

'You aren't my hero.' Primarina responded. 'From what I've seen you're many things but not that.'

Scizor noticed that her voice became a lot higher and less annoying when she spoke to him compared to when she talked to Lopunny or Excadrill. He decided to have some fun with this conversation.

'Is that so?' Scizor came up close to Primarina, his masculine scent invading Primarina's nostrils and addling her thought channel ever so slightly, disrupting her sentence flow.

'Oh...well...' Primarina had completely forgotten what she was about to say. 'I mean... You did some things...' She was staring up at Scizor's dark eyes, looking disconnected from reality. '...and some others.'

'What things?' Scizor edged closer to her so their faces were almost touching. The heat projected from Primarina's cheeks was rivaling the makeshift fire at their feet.

'I just...' Primarina appeared to shake herself out of her trance and glowered at Scizor who was still smirking. 'I know what you're trying and it's not gonna work!'

'What's not going to work?'

Primarina shrieked as, without anyone seeing, Excadrill appeared right next to her with a pleasant smile adorned on his muddy face. She leapt backwards, the enticing smell of Scizor unfortunately mixing with the new odor of Excadrill's underground travels.

'Stop doing that!' Primarina squeaked. Excadrill looked perplexed.

'Doing what?'

'Just showing up out of nowhere and unexpectedly!' Primarina hissed, checking to see if there was any dirt on her.

'She has a point.' Scizor said. While they were speaking, Keldeo slowly trudged out of the cave and into the light of the sun. 'You do have a habit of just...appearing.'

'I think he does it deliberately.' scowled Primarina, watching Excadrill curl up into a ball by the now roaring fire. 'There's no way you can think that it's an acceptable way to approach anyone.'

'Don't have much to lose by doing it do I?' said Excadrill, his eyes gazing at the orange light emitting in the centre of the cave. 'It's not like your opinion of me can get any lower.'

'Well...' Primarina clenched her teeth slightly, knowing that in order to at the very least enjoy this journey, she needed to loosen up a little. '...cut the sudden pop ups and maybe things can begin to change.'

'Really?' Excadrill looked up at Primarina, his eyes alight from both the flames and interest.

'And use some more soap.' Primarina pointed at him sternly, causing Scizor to laugh. Meanwhile, Keldeo was staring around the vast wasteland before him, his eyes peeled for Lady Lopunny or even the hope of catching his three companions just by chance. He craned his neck but the occasional billowing gusts of wind kept catching his eye and causing him to tuck his head in. He wondered if perhaps he could risk a signal. Something that his friends could potentially see. _It's worth a try_ , thought Keldeo, glancing behind him at Scizor, Excadrill and Primarina who were too busy tending to the fire. _Just one second_. Keldeo faced the sky, his body charging with energy. As he did this, Lopunny rounded the corner, her cloak blocking the wisps of sand and caught sight of Keldeo jumping on to his hind legs.

'Keldeo!?'

A flash of blue light erupted from Keldeo's horn, causing Lopunny to buckle and shield her eyes. The others in the cave all turned quickly to see Keldeo blasting another of his signature moves into the air, the sword shape elongating with every second. Primarina shrieked and Excadrill gasped with his claw over his mouth. Scizor however, yelled out in fury.

'OI!'

He sprinted over to the cave entrance as Lopunny did the same from outside.

'No Keldeo!'

Scizor was running with his right arm raised high, a potential bullet punch on the cards to knock Keldeo straight down. Scizor looked certain to land a critical blow to the unicorn like pokemon but, as if in slow motion, he saw Lopunny dashing towards Keldeo and instantly lowered his hand. He skidded to a halt, allowing Lopunny to reach Keldeo first and tackle him to the ground. Keldeo yelped and lost concentration, his beam of blue energy fizzing out yet still seen soaring high in the sky, as if it would touch space and keep going from there. They tumbled into the sand, dust flying up everywhere. They rolled over multiple times until it ended with Lopunny on top of Keldeo, her grip firm but her face fair.

'Lady Lopunny!' Keldeo whimpered, her face centimetres from his.

'Why did you do that?' Lopunny cried out. Scizor was watching this with an aggravated expression as Primarina and Excadrill came over to see what was going on.

'I was just...hoping that my friends would see!' Keldeo explained, stuttering madly. 'If Cobalion, Terrakion and Virizion would notice. I was trying my luck!'

'That's the last thing you want to do in Shan'rala, idiot.' Scizor growled, his huge stature casting an intimidating shadow over Lopunny and Keldeo. 'Trying your luck? The only thing you should be trying is trying to stay alive!'

'Scizor, don't call him an idiot.' Lopunny insisted before rising up, her weight being relieved from Keldeo's body. 'Look Keldeo, I know that you want to find them as soon as you can but you can't risk pulling off stunts like that!'

'Especially when we're not as far away from that old pub as you think.' Excadrill pointed ahead of him hypothetically. 'Someone might be nearby that could have seen us earlier and could be revving up a hunter party.'

'And I don't want more weirdos getting in my face.' Primarina added, wanting to feel part of the group.

'What weirdos?' Durant shouted in Primarina's ear, clearly his turn to burst from underground without anyone noticing. As Primarina screamed at Durant in annoyance and Excadrill tried to calm the situation down, Scizor continued to stare down at Lopunny and Keldeo, who looked like a mother scolding her disobedient child.

'I'm sorry.' mumbled Keldeo, clearly rattled by Lopunny shouting at him. 'It was stupid, I just acted out of desperation.'

'One wrong move and we could all get killed.' Scizor told him, straight to the point. 'Just be careful.'

'I know, Sir Scizor. I just-'

'And cut out the formalities will you?' Scizor rolled his eyes, Lopunny helping Keldeo to his feet. 'Enough with the sirs and ladies and all that, it's getting annoying.'

'It's just good manners.' Lopunny frowned, dusting her knees off. 'He can call us what he wants. Unless it's an insult.' she added, pointing at Keldeo with a stern yet playful attitude. Keldeo emitted a tiny laugh but he still had a slightly sad expression. Scizor hunched his shoulders, knowing he wouldn't get any further with this. Lopunny is too easy on everyone, he thought, glancing up at the sky and noticing the blue turning slowly purple. She can't stay like this forever though.

'Come on.' Scizor beckoned the two of them forward. 'It's getting dark. Let's rest up.'

Lopunny and Keldeo obliged and they joined Scizor in walking over to the squabbling other three by the fire.

'Well then don't take it!' Durant shouted, his grin wide as ever. 'Do something next time it happens!'

'I can't!' Primarina insisted, looking back and forth at him and Excadrill. 'If I do then they'll take your side,' she pointed at the incoming Scizor, Lopunny and Keldeo. 'cos you're all against me.'

'What are you talking about?' Lopunny asked, one hand placed on her hip.

'These two,' Primarina gave simultaneous nods at the desert dwellers by her side. 'keep popping up and scaring me then act as if I should just accept it!'

'That is literally the opposite of what I just said young lady.' Durant rumbled. Lopunny noticed small red pieces of food fall from his mouth as he spoke. 'I told you to actually do something next time we wrong you.'

Primarina breathed out hard, the sky outside dimming even more, seemingly brightening up Scizor's fire.

'Well just wait...' Primarina muttered, folding her fins across her chest. 'Next time one of you does that, you're in for a world of pain.'

'We look forward to it.' Durant said, his sinister smile making both Primarina and even Excadrill's skin crawl, the latter quickly adding. 'He looks forward to it. I ain't a sadist.'

'Durant.'

Durant turned to look at Lopunny, who was staring hard at the ceiling with her hands pressed tightly together as if she was in prayer.

'What?'

'That red stuff coming out of your mouth.' Lopunny said, still gazing anywhere but at him. 'That's that wurmple isn't it?'

'No.' Durant said flatly. For a moment Lopunny appeared to regain some sanity before Durant ruined the moment by carrying on. 'I found another one that was much fatter and therefore more delicious.'

'Oh.' Lopunny dropped her head, not even disappointed anymore. Scizor held his claw to his mouth, barely concealing his mirth. Primarina had been listening to this with her fin over her heart, her breath slowly speeding up before Durant's final statement sent her overboard. Her eyes rolled back and she keeled over, toppling into Excadrill who caught her before she hit the ground.

'Has she fainted?' Keldeo asked curiously.

'I think so.' Lopunny scratched her chin, staring at Primarina's still figure.

'Ah she definitely has.' Excadrill smiled, swiveling Primarina away from the fire. 'She would have definitely leapt off my grubby hands by now if she was conscious.'

Everyone laughed at Excadrill's joke. Even Durant chuckled, his eyes gleaming in the dark.

'Think it's best to hit the beds.' Scizor stretched and yawned. 'And by beds I mean the ground. Welcome to desert life you two.' He flourished his claws at Lopunny and Keldeo in what he hoped was a jovial fashion.

'You remember I have spent a night in Shan'rala?' Lopunny said as Excadrill dragged Primarina over to a corner and laid her down gently.

'This is a cave though.' Scizor waved his claw around the small shelter. 'Five star accommodation if you ask me.'

'I'll say.' Excadrill could be heard from a few metres away from them.

'Is someone going to stay awake to be on guard?' asked Keldeo, looking at Scizor and Lopunny. 'In case of bad pokemon or something?'

'I can do that if you want.' Durant piped up, trudging over to the entrance slowly. 'I barely ever sleep.'

'There you go.' Lopunny said to Keldeo who nodded. Everyone scattered to different parts of the cave, mostly to the darkest areas in order to shield themselves from the fires light yet still receive its heat in the cool cave. Durant stood at the entrance, looking up at the quickly darkened sky, still as a sentinel. Scizor hoisted himself on top of a higher cluster of rocks off the ground. The structure of those stones sure looked sharp and uncomfortable, thought Lopunny as she shuffled to the opposite side of the cave. Scizor however, seemed to be pretty content with his spot and right below him, Keldeo found satisfaction in the resting spot he had found. At the back of the cave, Primarina was still motionless while Excadrill was quickly dozing off, his face pressed against the cold stone wall and drool beginning to materialize at the corner of his mouth. Lopunny snorted quietly before calling out;

'Goodnight!'

'Goodnight Lady Lopunny.' Keldeo said loudly, Scizor wincing above him. 'Thank you for everything so far!'

Lopunny beamed at Keldeo who returned it in kind. He shuffled on to his back and shut his eyes tightly, hoping to get a reasonable nights sleep after the exhausting day he had. Lopunny swiveled her body to do the same and as she did, her eyes linked with Scizor's for a brief moment. She felt a sensation in her stomach that she prayed to Arceus was not butterflies.

'Goodnight Lopunny.' Scizor said, Lopunny clenching her teeth at just how attractive she found his voice. She tried to refrain from answering back but it was no good.

'...Night Scizor.' she responded, hating herself for doing so.

* * *

The hours passed and the sky became almost pitch black, the stars out in droves. The wind whistled eerily throughout the massive desert, the only sound that could be heard aside from Excadrill's guttural snoring. That was a smaller factor in why Lopunny could not sleep. She just did not feel tired despite the day she just had. She lay with her back on the relatively smooth part of the floor she decided to rest in with her hands behind her back, staring up at the dark rocky ceiling. Lopunny's eyes did not need to adjust to the dark thanks to the slowly dying fire and she was busy trying to wear herself out by counting the many rock stalactites hanging ominously above her. It wouldn't work. She was wide awake as ever. What a day it had been for her. Lopunny's mind was racing. She wondered how ordinary her journey with Keldeo would have been if it not been for the sudden appearance of her bright red and cocky ex along with his dirty companion, his racist mentor and Lopunny's irritating rival. She smirked to herself. _When I put it that way_ , she thought, _it sounds like a bad comedy_.

'But it's not though.' Lopunny said out loud. She put her hand to her chest, wondering why she did that and sat up, turning to see if anyone had woken up due to her exclamation. Nobody reacted. She breathed out hard, her hand still resting on her heart which was beating all the little faster. The statement she accidentally uttered to the world still held truth. Scizor was right. Her situation was more troublesome than ever. Out here in the seemingly endless stretch of sand with threats coming from every direction and a large faction out to get Keldeo, the member they were prioritizing. If the hunters didn't get them then the conditions would. Lopunny rubbed her eyes, wishing she could sleep. Her eyes fell on the corner of the entrance where it was visible as her sight was obscured by her position in the cave in front of a large boulder embedded in the earth. Lopunny slowly pushed herself off the ground and on to her feet, gravel falling off her back. As quietly as she could, she tiptoed over to the large opening in the cave, her steps moving in time to Excadrill's snoring. She slowly made her way over to Durant who had flopped down on to his belly, evidently tired of standing or pacing.

'Durant.' Lopunny whispered, approaching his side. 'Sorry I can't sleep. I was just thinking of going for a-'

ZZZ!

Lopunny squeaked and clapped her hand to her mouth in fright from the sudden noise that burst from Durant's dribbling pincers. Her shock switched to exasperation as she realized that the noise he made was a rumbling snore. She tutted.

'I'll stand guard, I barely ever sleep.' Lopunny mocked what Durant said earlier, pulling her hood up over her head. 'I have to do everything around here don't I?'

She shot one last look at the fast asleep insect below her before turning briskly and striding out into the grey desert, the star spangled sky hanging above her like a magnificent theatre ceiling. There were no sounds nearby which was a relief considering what she was about to do. She glanced back, wondering how visible her companions would appear to outside presences. Everyone inside was hidden by darkness while only the tips of Durant's pincers could be seen but she had no idea when that fire was about to extinguish... _They could pass as rocks to me_ , Lopunny thought. _I won't be long anyway. Just a wander_. Beside the cave entrance, she scooped up a handful of stones, intending on leaving them in a trail behind her as she walked in order to navigate her way back to the cave in case she got lost. As she prepared to cast the first stone, she noticed something out the corner of her eye. It was light. The light of fire could be seen in the distance, flickering and small but definitely a signal of company. Lopunny initiated a run but hesitated, wondering if it was the right thing to do. Whether it was wise to leave her party as they all slept, vulnerable inside that cave while potential hostiles were less than a mile away. Lopunny shook her head and stared hard at the far away flame, setting her motivation straight. _Just a quick check. I'll be there in one second to see if they have anything or want to cause trouble then I'll be out the next. Easy._ She began her walk with a slight spring in her step. Every few seconds she dropped one of the black stones in her wake, her trail subtle enough to be missed by rushing pokemon but obvious to Lopunny's trained eyes. Her walk slowed down as she came closer to the distant fire while her heart rate picked up. She was now nervous, her stone trail becoming more erratic with every drop. Lopunny's eyes flit between the bright flames and a rock erosion about ten metres away and slightly skewed to the left, her teeth clenched and her palms now sweating as she let go of her last stone. There was then the sound of voices emerging from the camp, which prompted Lopunny to dive behind the rock butte and breath out a sigh of relief. Her heart rate slowing down, she cautiously peered round the side to try and see what was going on. The fire was laid out on the desert in plain sight with no stone formation nearby. Around five pokemon gathered in a circle, some standing and others sitting. Lopunny could only make out the shapes of a few of them, her skilled ears picking up their voices.

'I swear,' a figure that looked an awful lot like a chesnaught stood with his back to Lopunny, hidden behind the butte a fair distance away. 'he screamed for about a minute solid. Was quite funny.'

 _I recognize him_ , Lopunny thought. _But where from_?

'I don't know, that sounds like a lie.' A pokemon illuminated by the fire spoke up and Lopunny definitely remembered him. After all, they did meet today. 'I've seen you around ice pokemon Chesnaught.' Krookodile continued, nursing his ribs that had been heavily impacted after the collision he had experienced. 'Let me just say you don't appear so tough.'

'Fuck you.' Chesnaught scowled, taking a swig from whatever was in the bottle he was holding. From what Lopunny could see, Chesnaught and Krookodile were accompanied by Krookodile's companion, Scolipede as well as two others. One looked like a beeheeyem, it's still body floating slightly creepily above the ground and another figure who was seated, their appearance masked in shadow.

'Scolly?' Krookodile raised his hand, looking for the support of his friend.

'I agree.' Scolipede shrugged arrogantly, her long body curled near the fire. 'You do have a reputation for being a shit bag.'

'I ain't the one who got hit by a car today!' Chesnaught tried to suppress his laughter. 'I'm sorry but how does that happen!? How!?'

'Don't know.' Krookodile grimaced, massaging his body while Scolipede winced when moving one of her many legs. 'It was ridiculous the whole thing. Have I told you what happened?'

'No you haven't.' Chesnaught said. Oh great, Lopunny thought, her hand pressed down on the grey rock. Publicity time.

'So me and Scolly are doing our bit, moseying around to see if we can find the asset and its energy.' Krookodile said with Beeheeyem hovering around behind him, not speaking a word. 'We pick up it's source and low and behold, we find him! It's a very strange looking pokemon too, I ain't seen anything like it before! Anyway, we give chase as you do and we bump into Scizor, the dune shadow himself and he's so wasted!'

Chesnaught spat out his drink while the figure in the shadows raised their head in attentiveness.

'Scizor!?' Chesnaught spluttered. Krookodile nodded.

'That's right. He was being sick everywhere too.' Krookodile carried on, obviously enjoying telling this story. 'Anyway, we chase the asset again until we run it into a pitfall of sand where it's got a new companion. And guess who this is!?'

Chesnaught shrugged.

'No clue.'

'Lopunny!' Krookodile finished, Scolipede sniggering to herself.

'What!?' Chesnaught guffawed. 'No way!'

'Lopunny?'

Everyone turned to the last pokemon, still seated in darkness. Lopunny's quick breathing returned. It was unnerving being the centre of focus among pokemon who were clearly hostile, not least the tone that this pokemon said her name in was that of perceived rage.

'What's the matter newbie?' asked Krookodile, folding his arms. 'You a Lopunny hater too? There's a few of them I've heard.'

 _Lopunny haters. Pah!_ Lopunny shook her head in disbelief. _Must be Primarina's fan club._

'I guess you could say that.' The pokemon said, standing to her feet. 'For many reasons, I don't blame anyone for not liking that bitch.'

Lopunny's blood turned icy cold as the familiarity of this pokemons voice became clearer. Her hands began to tremble and she rolled on to her back, the smooth rock scraping against slightly burned shoulders. _It can't be. Not her. Please not her._ It took Lopunny a few seconds to realize something horrible. She really was not as brave as she thought, and the quivering motion she took to turn back around to see if this wasn't just a terrible error in judgement. This pokemon had moved closer to the pokemon around the campfire, her appearance illuminated by the blaze and Lopunny's worst fears were affirmed. It was her. It was Nidoqueen.

'Well each to their own.' Chesnaught laughed before offering Nidoqueen some of his drink. 'Want some?'

'No thank you.' Nidoqueen said curtly, hunching her shoulders and staring around at her new comrades. 'So are all of you Scrafty's lapdogs?'

'Well if you want to put it that way, yeah we are.' Krookodile said slowly, the fire rising slightly higher. 'We have one more but he's away doing...'

'Actual work.' Scolipede said. Krookodile laughed again. 'He was his own way of doing things.'

'Basically.'

Nidoqueen snorted. It was evident that she already harbored some disdain for her coworkers. Lopunny's nerves were still jangling. She couldn't believe it. This was the cherry on the cake for the day. A rotten cherry on an extremely foul tasting cake. Nidoqueen was actually here. The pokemon she had loathed and feared ever since their first meeting. She tried to steady her breathing but couldn't. Lopunny looked left and right, wanting to escape but knowing she had to stay and find out more. Suddenly with no warning, a hand clasped itself over Lopunny's mouth, causing her to almost shriek and her body to freeze in fear. The grip was so tight, alarm bells were ringing in Lopunny's head, thinking for sure that she would perish this moment but a voice whispered in her ear; 'It's me. Scizor.'

The claw slid off Lopunny's mouth and she gasped, turning to see the scarlet bug crouched to her level with his hands raised, his expression slightly pleading. Without hesitation, Lopunny punched him in the side but instantly regretted it, remembering how solid he was.

'Why did you do that!?' she hissed, careful to keep her voice low but angry all the same. She put her sore hand to her mouth and breathed out, her heart slowing down slightly thanks to his presence.

'Any approach would startle you.' Scizor told her, his voice low as well. 'It was the best way to shut you up.'

Lopunny found literal tears streaming from her eyes so she wiped her face, looking back up at Scizor with an anguished demeanor.

'Scizor... It's her.'

'I know. I see her.' Scizor said, glancing above the rock at the far away Nidoqueen. 'Are you okay?'

'...Yeah.' Lopunny nodded, her mouth pursed tight. Scizor raised one of his eyebrows. He wouldn't question it further but he remembered Durant telling him to hit out with the truth immediately and thought it would apply to Lopunny here. 'What do we do?' she carried on.

'If you're suggesting we engage,' Scizor said quietly. 'I would recommend caution. There's two of us and five of them.'

'The Krookodile and Scolipede aren't very smart though.' Lopunny whispered, not noticing her hand placed on Scizor's wrist. 'And I have a feeling I know the Chesnaught.'

'You met him before.' Scizor murmured, realizing Lopunny was gripping him quite hard. 'Near Sontos. Charizard interrogated him for information.' He then gently lifted Lopunny's hand off his arm, prompting her to say 'sorry'.

'So what brings you here anyway?'

Scizor and Lopunny's conversation was halted by Scolipede's loud voice. She was addressing Nidoqueen, whose entire frame was placed in focus by the roaring fire. She looked very intimidating even among the other menacing mercenaries.

'Work is work.' Nidoqueen replied to her.

'Vague much?' Scolipede raised her eyebrow in skepticism. 'Not from around here are you though?'

'My partner,' Nidoqueen jerked her head to her left despite nobody being present there. 'decided to show me the ropes in this place. He's had experience in the desert.'

Lopunny and Scizor glanced at each other. Partner?

'Aw that we know full well.' Krookodile shrugged. Over behind the rock, Scizor noticed Lopunny edging forward slightly as if she was eager to jump out now.

'What are you doing?'

'I think we can ambush them. I really do.' said Lopunny, analyzing the scenario. 'Quick raid, use the dark to our advantage.'

'If that was doable, I would have done it by now.' Scizor warned her, his hand seizing her arm this time. Lopunny gritted her teeth and fitted her fingers around Scizor's claw, prizing it off her.

'Why are you awake anyway?' Lopunny whispered, one ear ready for Scizor's reply, the other still tuned into the conversation twenty metres away. 'Couldn't sleep either?'

'Oh no you woke me up.' Scizor corrected her, his eyes fixed on Lopunny rather than the camp. 'You made a funny noise then I saw the far away fire. I thought this campsite would have...'

Scizor held his tongue and ceased his sentence. Lopunny blinked sharply, puzzled by his stoppage.

'Have what?' Lopunny asked him before her eyes narrowed. 'You weren't looking for booze were you?'

'Uh...' Scizor nodded ahead of her. 'Focus on the important things right now.'

Lopunny shook her head and twisted around on the ground again, Scizor above her back, barely keeping his tall frame below their cover. At the campfire, Nidoqueen had picked up a long cylindrical object and was examining it carefully. For the first time that night, Beeheeyem spoke out.

'You should...put that down.' he spoke, his eerie voice slow and heavy. Nidoqueen smirked and kept twirling it in her stubby fingers.

'Must be serious business if it prompts you to speak.' she said to Beeheeyem rudely, tossing the cylinder hand to hand.

'He has a point.' Krookodile approached her, his hands raised upwards. 'It's dangerous and a little unstable.'

'Ah so it's one of Scrafty's inventions?' Nidoqueen asked, her mouth round. 'That explains why it looks so half assed.'

'Yes it's Hoodwink's.' said Krookodile, glancing in puzzlement at Scolipede who shrugged in kind. 'And I'd rather not get blown up so put it down.'

Nidoqueen curled her lip at the other four before very casually, and to everyone's horror, she dropped the explosive from a few feet on to the sandy ground. Her companions eyes widened and they all yelled out but the missile hit the ground with a clank and remained inactive, the yellow fire reflected on it's white shell.

'What is wrong with you?' Scolipede hissed as Chesnaught caught his breath and Beeheeyem remained floating, his expression blank. 'You could've killed us all!'

'It's my way of saying I'm in control of things.' Nidoqueen folded her arms, her expression rather gloating. 'I would never just state it. Never praise yourselves folks cos nobody will believe anything you say.'

'Yeah well...' Chesnaught nodded down at their rocket sheepishly. '...Just warn us next time, I almost had a heart attack.'

Behind their hiding spot, Lopunny turned back around to Scizor who had the same expression as Chesnaught, that of confused anxiety. She poked him in the chest to wake him from his stupor.

'That's the key.' she pointed over her shoulder. 'We jump in and steal that missile then use it on them.'

'When did you become a mass murderer?' Scizor asked her, shaking his head.

'I am beyond forgiveness when it comes to that maniac.' Lopunny told him. 'After everything she did. I'll beat her at long last.'

'Honestly I thought you'd be more content defeating her with your fists rather than blowing her to hell.'

'I don't care too much.' Lopunny said, glancing back at Nidoqueen with a face full of loathing. 'As long as she's alive, nobody is safe.'

'Ah!'

Nidoqueen pointed with her sharp claw in a direction to the far right of the Shining Beacons, sending them shrinking back down with Lopunny not rejecting Scizor gripping her tight this time. They both shifted their eyes to where she was pointing as a shadowy figure could be seen making his way over to the fire. Again, Lopunny recognized the features of this pokemons body and so did Scizor, staring in apprehension at his sharp, bladed arms and the way his metal feet clinked off the ground.

'You have it?' Nidoqueen asked loudly. The other pokemon all seemed to shy away as Nidoqueen's ally approached them, almost as if they were frightened of him.

'Yes.' he said, raising his arm and clutching a tiny vial. 'Bit late though. Only took a tiny sample.'

Scizor and Lopunny clutched each other tight, this pokemons voice sending both their hearts into a drum solo. Sure enough, the pokemon moved into the light of the fire and was revealed to be the one being that made Nidoqueen look like an innocent baby happiny in comparison. Bisharp shook the vial before chucking it to Nidoqueen who caught it, peering into it closely. The other mercenaries winced, clearly bothered by these two's reckless actions but incredibly subdued at the presence of Bisharp.

'Fuck.' Scizor breathed heavily. He remembered his and Gallade's battle with the sociopath automaton and how he managed to hold them both off at the same time. 'That settles it. We are not moving towards that camp.'

'Okay I agree now.' Lopunny rubbed her forehead, utterly dismayed.

'Science folk from Tanapas were there en masse,' Bisharp explained as Nidoqueen handed the vial to Krookodile. 'Had to move in quickly and stealthily.'

'This is progress,' Krookodile said, once again passing the little jar to his friends. 'but I reckon Hoodwink will want the whole package.'

'I'm aware.' Bisharp said, his reply fast but not in a guilty way. More impatient than anything. 'It's so we have a lead. We hang on to that and if we see anything of the sort, we compare the two to be sure we aren't being mislead.'

'He's talking about Keldeo's energy source.' Lopunny whispered, making sure her voice was extra quiet. 'They're after us. They're one of our hunting parties.'

'Now you tell me this!?' Scizor hissed, his voice accidentally raising in pitch and volume ever so slightly. At that moment, Bisharp turned his head and stared directly at the place the two of them were hiding, his expression cold and calculating.

'Everything okay Bish?' Nidoqueen asked as everyone had their own examination of Keldeo's energy.

'I thought I heard something.' Bisharp said. Scizor and Lopunny held their breath tightly, dreading the next few moments.

'Probably just the wind.' Nidoqueen shrugged her broad shoulders. Bisharp's eyes became slits. _There is no wind you stupid bitch._

'Oh by the way,' Nidoqueen began to chortle despite her eyes dropping hints of anger rather than humor. 'These guys claim they ran into Scizor and Lopunny!'

'The Shining Beacons?' Bisharp opened his mouth wider slightly. 'Interesting.'

'How... is it interesting...to you?' Beeheeyem spoke softly. Bisharp and Nidoqueen glanced at each other.

'Well how is it not interesting?' Nidoqueen asked him. 'There has to be some bounties on them surely? Think about it, kill two pidgeys with one stone!'

'Prioritize this mission.' Bisharp told her. Nidoqueen raised her upper lip in contempt slightly. Her longing for vengeance was much stronger than his. 'Tell me,' he said, addressing Krookodile and his gang. 'why do you want to work for Hoodwink?'

'Why does anyone want to work for anybody?' Krookodile said, raising his bottle to his snout. 'We gotta get on in life. Whoever serves up the best-'

'I know how Shan'rala works thanks.' Bisharp interrupted snarkily. The two former Clan members were clearly not getting along too well with their new allies. 'Just find it interesting that mercenaries of your skills all congregate to the same source of work.'

'There's even more pokemon in this desert who think that if they work for Hoodwink then they're part of a grand plan.' Chesnaught piped up, his eyes alight.

'What are you talking about?' Nidoqueen asked. Chesnaught puffed his broad chest out.

'Many many desert dwellers have been facing the brink of destruction since the Shan'rala-Rylus war ended.' Chesnaught told them. 'They don't know what to do with themselves. All most of them ever knew was fighting and battles. It's like they don't know what purpose they serve anymore on this world so many are hoping that Hoodwink can help kick start some new conflict so they can find their identity again.'

'Is that true?' Lopunny asked Scizor as the wind whistled through the air.

'Durant did mention something about that earlier.' Scizor said, racking his brain back. 'I didn't know that so many felt this way though. Only a handful.'

'But the war was terrible!' Lopunny whimpered, staring incredulously at the enemies in the camp. 'Why would anyone want to go back to that?'

'Like he said,' Scizor acknowledged Chesnaught. 'It's all some folk knew.' He looked around the space. 'We need to go back.'

Lopunny turned to him appalled. 'No we can't! We still have more to find out!'

'The only thing I want to find out is if that fire is extinguished.' Scizor jerked his head behind him at the now distant settlement of their crew. 'If we saw theirs from where we are then that's reason to believe they could see ours from inside our cave. And also,' he lowered his voice so low that even Lopunny with her precise hearing had to pay close attention. 'I really don't look how Bisharp is shooting us looks.'

He was right. Every few seconds, the corner of Bisharp's eyes flitted to their exact location which was unnerving to say the least. Lopunny acknowledged Scizor's point, wanting to stay and hear more but knowing that they were too exposed and would only put themselves in further danger if they continued to arouse Bisharp's suspicion.

'Okay...' Lopunny breathed out, her body sinking. 'How do we do this?'

'I'm going to army crawl. You get on my back.' Scizor said, this plan alarming Lopunny.

'What?'

'Look at the colour of me. I'll stick out like a sore thumb.' Scizor addressed his red body before pointing up at the moon, shining bright and illuminating the land behind them. 'You're brown like the sand. You'll blend in and also I'll be relatively hidden.'

 _The nerve of this guy_ , thought Lopunny. _If Bisharp flings a blade at him and it smites me I'll be sure to kill him before I bleed to death._

'Fine!' she spat out, loathing the plan. Scizor turned round and slid his body on to the dusty earth, his arms propped out in front of his face, looking like a large shelless lobster. Lopunny tucked her arms under Scizor's chest and dropped her small frame on top of his back, her breast making an impact on his shoulders.

'Ooft!' Scizor coughed, some sand in front of him blowing upwards. 'You been bulking?'

'Oh shut up it's autumn.' Lopunny snorted, fastening her arms tight. 'The mago berries double their growth.'

As one, they began to move slowly but surely across the solid ground, Scizor following the trail of laid out rocks and Lopunny tilting her head in order to still pick up anything the mercenaries said. Despite the shifting of sand, she still managed to make out some sentences.

'Well this varies our options if he's still with her.' Nidoqueen could be heard saying. 'Knowing that self righteous little tart, she'll stick with that pokemon all the way. This means if we find her, we find him.'

'Don't react.' Scizor said out the corner of his mouth, feeling Lopunny's fingers press into his metal coat. Lopunny nodded and relaxed slightly, although still staying perfectly stationary.

'It means we have to be extra careful now.' she said, Scizor's chin bumping off the ground. 'With those two about. I just can't believe this.'

'I know.' Scizor said, his arms stretching out to gain more ground. 'I can only hope that-'

SQUELCH!

Scizor froze where he was, his face contorting to that of a sickened and embarrassed emotion. Lopunny raised her body up and peered over his deltoid, her heart hammering off his back.

'...Please tell me that wasn't a pokemon.'

'It's either that or a mouldy fruit.' Scizor shuddered, raising his elbow, the red liquid dripping causing them both to groan in dismay. 'Yep it's a pokemon.'

'A wurmple.' Lopunny affirmed, acknowledging the hole burrowed in the ground where Scizor stuck his elbow and almost being sick at the mangled headless body splattered into the sand. 'I hope this isn't an average day for them.'

Then out of nowhere, an object hurtled right into their path, embedding itself in the sand inches away from Scizor's arm and almost causing Lopunny to scream in fright only for her to catch her voice at the last second. Stuck deeply into the ground next to the wurmple carcass was a short, razor sharp knife, the handle quivering as it had been flung extremely hard.

'Why did you do that?' They both heard Nidoqueen's shrill voice in an interrogative tone. She stood looking at Bisharp who was in an action pose after tossing one of his blades. The other mercenaries all stood back, wide eyed and alarmed.

'I kept hearing things.' Bisharp told her, pointing over at the boulder he had been suspicious of all night.

'Probably that classic ex-military PTSD kicking in.' Nidoqueen cackled, this comment igniting an enraged tic in Bisharp's face. Thinking fast, Lopunny seized hold of the decapitated corpse of poor Wurmple, her face grimacing in disgust and squeezed hard. The loud noise was disgusting, sounding like she has running her hand through hot sludge. She did this for at least five seconds, Scizor knowing and approving of her actions before she stopped, holding her breath.

'Got it.' Bisharp said flatly, 'Can hear it bleeding out. Must've just been a bug.'

'First bug of many to be splattered.' Nidoqueen smirked at Krookodile's crew who each forced out a fake enthusiastic smile. Meanwhile, Scizor and Lopunny carried on their slow crawl, relieved that they were in the clear. Lopunny leaned over her living ferry and allowed her hand to glide through the smooth sand, the wurmples insides slowly peeling off her skin.

'Good thinking.' Scizor said, now a good twenty metres away from their hiding spot.

'You impressed?' Lopunny asked hopefully.

'Not really,' he glanced over his shoulder straight into her moonlit and gorgeous eyes. 'I expect that kind of stuff from you now.'

'Oh right.' Lopunny nodded, looking ahead at their ever closer refuge. _I guess he's right now. I've been doing this type of thing for a while_. They traveled further, Scizor showing visible fatigue from the grueling activity and Lopunny checking behind her every now and then to make sure they weren't being followed. Eventually, the cave made itself visible from a distance of around thirty feet and Scizor sighed with relief.

'Think we can stop this now.'

Lopunny smiled and hopped off Scizor's back, who stood to his feet, groaning and cracking a good number of bones in different parts of his body. Lopunny quickly darted into their cavern and Scizor followed suit, trotting past the fast asleep Durant. The fire they had lit had been reduced to it's last few embers which were quickly stubbed out by Lopunny prodding them with a long stick. There was silence as Lopunny dropped the stick, acknowledging the still resting bodies of Keldeo, Excadrill and Primarina and joined Scizor who was sitting at the cave entrance with his hands resting on his high knees and staring out at the night sky, all misty eyed.

'I don't think I'll be able to sleep at all tonight.' Lopunny quivered, flopping down next to Scizor, her body scrunched up tighter than his.

'I don't think either of us should.' said Scizor, nodding at the yonder horizon. 'Not with them about. 'Double guard duty.'

'Yup.' Lopunny put her head in her hands, letting out a slight whimper. Scizor looked down at her with pity and in full understanding of the horror she just went through. He slowly put his arm around her, to which she did not object and the two of them hugged in despair as just less than a mile away, their mortal enemies laughed and spoke their delight of watching the Shining Beacons suffer and die.


	9. Chapter Eight: Soul Searching

**Chapter Eight: Soul Searching**

The night seemed to go on for an eternity. The stars remained peppered across the sky in a random fashion as if they were sneezed out by a god sized baby. The wind finally settled. No longer where there random gusts and whirls streaking through and casting dust particles airborne. It was difficult to tell which was more creepy, the dead silence or the ghostly howls of the long dead desert. The murky clouds overhead passed over the moon now, plunging Shan'rala into even more darkness. The good news meant that it was easier to identify any distant light sources and to Scizor and Lopunny's relative relief, they failed to see any potential hazardous campsites.

'You want to rest now?' asked Scizor, standing behind Lopunny who was still seated, having not moved from her spot for a good hour now. She shook her head.

'Can't risk it.' she murmured. Scizor shrugged and held two berries in his claws tightly. There was a squeezing noise and then a pop which startled the already unsettled Lopunny. She turned to see Scizor knelt down and emptying the sweet and spicy berry juices into a small makeshift cup created from half a coconut. He looked up, seeing her puzzled expression and grinned rather foolishly.

'Magost and Tamato berries.' he said, showing her the crinkled skins of his food. 'Mix the insides together and shake. It makes a really nice...smoothie.'

Lopunny caught him out by the pause.

'A smoothie?' she said in exasperation. 'It's a buzz drink isn't it? Low percentage of alcohol in it I'm guessing?'

Scizor stayed quiet, one of his hands clutching his drink, the other stirring it slowly with a stone. Lopunny narrowed her brows and held out her arm.

'Give that to me.'

'No?' Scizor said, looking at Lopunny as if she had just requested one of his legs. 'Get your own.'

'I don't want to drink it.' Lopunny finally stood to her feet, Scizor jumping to his in response. 'I want it away from you.'

'Go away!' Scizor hissed, trying to remain quiet so he would not alert anyone. He quickly raised the cup to his mouth but Lopunny jumped up, her hands fitting round his wrists, her knees pressing against his thighs. They were at a stalemate, Scizor trying to place his drink to his lips and Lopunny trying to wrench his arms downwards. Scizor sharply wrenched his right arm in a downwards diagonal movement, the sudden movement loosening Lopunny's grip. She tumbled to the ground but swiftly scrambled to her feet, her brain whirring fast for a new plan. As Scizor prepared to drink, Lopunny turned and jumped against the rock wall, her knees bending deep. She sprang at a lightning speed, her right leg raised in a hi-jump kick. Her foot made sharp contact with the coconut cup and knocked it straight out of the shocked Scizor's hands. It flew across the cave, the contents spilling all over the place and clattered to the ground. Lopunny landed gracefully beside Scizor who was staring in disbelief at the pink liquid before slowly rotating his head to face her, his red face turning white.

'Thank me later.' Lopunny said, her customary hands on hips pose in action.

'What is wrong with you!?' Scizor advanced aggressively towards Lopunny, forcing her backwards until she was up against the wall. Lopunny stared up in sadness at the irate Scizor, who despite holding up his claws in a potentially violent position, knew deep down he wouldn't strike her.

'You wake up wanting a drink.' Lopunny said after a few seconds silence. 'You take about five times more liquor than anyone else in that pub earlier and according to the mercenaries back there, you were off your ass in the morning. Why are you doing this!?'

'Can a guy not enjoy a dram or two?'

'A dram or twelve you mean.' Lopunny snapped back before eyeing his demeanor in pity. 'I'm sadly surprised by your lack of skill to beat me away there. I mean come to think of it you were certainly not invincible from criticism but nobody would have pretended you couldn't handle yourself.'

Scizor scoffed.

'Oh really?' he said, his arm still held up. 'Invincible from criticism? I dread to think what mean things the big bad pokemon said about me behind my back.'

Lopunny frowned. _Acting like a child I see? Well two can play at that game._

'Milotic was telling me.' she said, feeling bad for selling out her friend but knowing that Scizor needed to hear it. 'She thought ill of you cos of your arrogance and how you treated others.'

'Oh no!' Scizor shook sarcastically. 'I'm going to lose sleep over what that bully Milotic has to say! I'm glad she took the time out of manipulating that gullible twat Sceptile to tell you this.'

'Don't you try turning this on someone else.' Lopunny hissed harshly, startled at Scizor's theory about Milotic and Sceptile's relationship. 'This is about your change, so evident from back there.' she gestured over at the spilled drink. 'The Scizor of three months ago would have caught my kick the moment I jumped up. Now you're so sluggish and unprepared and I know it's cos of what you've become.'

'You keep underestimating yourself.' Scizor's tone seemed less critical but he maintained his closeness. 'I would have caught that three months ago cos you weren't as good at fighting back then. The times have changed.'

'Then explain what happened in your childhood days. How you met Durant. What was this upbringing you had, the one you hinted at to me when you asked for my forgiveness.' Lopunny asked, now sounding sincere. She rested her hand on Scizor's chest, feeling his heartbeat. Scizor was about to swipe her hand away but hesitated. Her touch was warm and gentle and he'd be lying if he said he hadn't missed a sensation this loving in a while. She looked down at Lopunny, his dark eyes linking with her bright ones, their whole bodies contained inside their reflections.

'Please?' Lopunny insisted, her expression saying 'let me help you.'. Scizor slowly but surely backed away from Lopunny, her hand sliding off his steel body. He turned and trudged over to where the coconut half had landed and picked it up from the ground. Lopunny thought he was about to scoop up the quickly drying splatters of drink but instead, Scizor turned again to look up at the night sky where the moon had been uncovered by the gradually moving clouds, twirling the cup in his claws.

'I was born in the early stages of the war.' Scizor told Lopunny with her listening intently. 'The days were there was a skirmish every few weeks as a pose to a bloody battle every day. My mum and dad were a proud warrior duo, both of them scizors.' He nodded over to Durant. 'If you think he's opposed to mixed-type relationships you ain't seen my dad. If he saw me dating anyone that wasn't part of the scizor line he'd have went on the warpath.'

Lopunny pursed her lips together.

'Please don't tell me that was one of the reasons why-'

'No.' Scizor shook his head, his mouth curling into a smirk. 'I can assure you it ain't.' He span the coconut shell on the tip of his left claw. 'Anyway, during one such fight my mother was fatally wounded by a dragon and died in my dads arms. I wasn't even there. Ever since that day something inside papa Scizor snapped. He refused to carry on the battle, choosing to stay home and grieve over mum, every now and then taking his anger out on me and my brother.'

Scizor mimed a fist making contact with his face, making a 'click' noise with his mouth. Lopunny gasped, not even registering the fact that he had a brother that she was never informed about.

'You were abused as a child?' Lopunny slowly approached Scizor, her eyes beginning to water as Scizor nodded.

'Afraid so.' he said calmly, although his grip on the coconut cup tightened. 'One day, he beat me pretty bad so I ran away. I was so young. So scared. By chance, I ran into a sand dune and meet Durant.' Scizor acknowledged the sleeping bug, the pool of drool casting a black shadow below his slumped head. 'He tells me that what pops did to me was the least that could happen to me in the Shan'rala-Rylus battle and insists I need to toughen up. With his help.'

'The least!?' Lopunny whipped round to stare at the snoozing Durant, his hatred for him increasing even more. 'That isn't just physical, that's emotional! Your own dad made your life hell!'

'He was right though.' Scizor muttered, arms beginning to shake slightly while clutching the shell. 'I trained and I trained and I surpassed him. The next time he raised his claws to me I was ready and I hadn't even evolved yet. The damage I did to him, he almost died by my blade. The only thing that stopped me was my brother preventing anything more. That was when we both left to go and fight in the war. I...'

Lopunny was shocked and heartbroken to see Scizor's face screw up tight, his eyes watering. The coconut cup shattered in his grip as if it had been smashed by a hammer, the pieces flying in different directions, one bouncing off Lopunny but she never felt it. Her eyes were full of despair for Scizor who was still staring at thin air, his face drenched in rage and grief.

'I hate him.' Scizor eventually said, his arms lowering and staring back at Lopunny, both their eyes dripping slow tears. He held his claw to his breast, feeling the unpleasant feeling he had felt earlier that day at the stream. That of constriction, of anxiety and unpleasant, nihilistic thoughts. _He tried to stamp it out. Not in front of Lopunny_ , he thought.

'I understand.' Lopunny whispered, her voice a faint echo. 'It's not your fault, Scizor.'

'Once the conflict was finally quelled by King Volcarona,' Scizor continued after taking his arm away from his chest and breathing out. 'I decided to continue the soldier lifestyle except for hire. Thing is I got really good at it.' Scizor flourished his hand a tad in recognition of his own abilities to which Lopunny appreciated. 'Me and many many others decided to carry on as mercenaries, trying to salvage a life out of the ruins we were left in the only way we knew. This is what Chesnaught was saying earlier. The old are mostly dead and the all the young know is fighting. And they're facing serious trouble.'

Scizor lowered his shoulders, looking crestfallen. Lopunny walked up to him, her hands held together and her cheeks reddened by her emotional flushing. She rested her head on his arm and the two of them gazed out the cave at the wasteland before them, its length incalculable and whatever inside it mysterious and frightening. It occurred for the first time to Lopunny that she didn't know what direction home was. Tanapas City. Or even where Milotic and Sceptile could be. What they were doing. Armaldo? Electivire? How one wrong step could cost her and the rest of them their lives and a number of the Shining Beacons hadn't seen them in ages. They'd have never said the last goodbye. Just another part of their lives gone with the wind.

'So in a way I owe the Shining Beacons...' Scizor was about to explain himself but Lopunny did it for him.

'They stopped you from ending up like them.' It wasn't a guess. Lopunny knew what Scizor was about to say and was confirmed by Scizor's shaky nod.

'Yeah.' he said, his voice shaky. 'Had my fair share of shit right?'

Lopunny said nothing at this, her fingers slowly caressing Scizor's arm comfortingly. It was clear now why Scizor was throwing alcohol down his throat at such an alarming rate. _Really puts things into perspective_ , she thought to herself. _Right now I'm scared that Nidoqueen and Bisharp might be nearby but Scizor has had to live in this forsaken hellhole all his life, surrounded by buried corpses of everyone he knew and the impact that was left on him when he was a young boy_. This point made Lopunny all the more upset and she decided to ask him the most important question again.

'Then why come back?' she said, her turn for her voice to crack. 'To Shan'rala? We could have had it all, you wouldn't be stuck here wasting your time and your life away! I could of got you help! I was proud of myself because I thought I managed to make you a better pokemon and I'll be more than willing to do it again.'

'I don't need help!' said Scizor, clenching his teeth hard. 'Not any of this 'help' that you think Tanapas or Giruphin or any of these cities can give me. These pokemon of Charom will now see me as some sort of vigilante or hero and the next time some fucking monster god pokemon appears, they'll be the ones who will want to pressure me into leading a crusade against whoever comes calling!'

'Scizor...'

'And it's not gonna be just me.' he continued before pointing his claw at Lopunny. 'It'll be you. Sceptile. Milotic. All of them. We aren't legends, aren't titans who can take on entire armies at once and sweep them aside. We lucked out. It was a miracle we managed to win back at the castle. I've scraped through two wars. I'm not willing to risk another.'

Scizor looked down at the ground, his right foot shifting and making random shapes in the smooth sand. It was as the conversation had ceased and he now needed something to keep himself occupied and preventing a form of freak out. Lopunny was trying her best not to burst into tears as she looked at Scizor. Scarred, beaten and battered, rejecting her help, looking lost and a far cry from what she knew he could be at his best. Funny, witty, playfully cocky and yes, irritating and overconfident but with the potential to be so brave, kind and caring for those he cherished. That gave him...

'Purpose.'

The voice that emitted caused both Scizor and Lopunny, despite it being a friendly familiar one and coming from inside the cave, to spin round at blinding speed and lock their legs down in combat positions. They were relieved and a little embarrassed to see that it was Keldeo, stood on all fours and in the middle of the triangle of sleeping companions; Durant near the entrance with Primarina and Excadrill comatose at the back wall. The water unicorn was staring hard at Scizor, with a determined yet somewhat empathetic expression. This did not deter Scizor, whose next words were drenched in venom.

'Were you listening to what we were talking about!?'

Lopunny had to clench him again to prevent his advance. Keldeo held his ground.

'I'm afraid so, Sir Scizor.' he said apologetically. 'I was woken up by your conflict,' he nodded over at the entrance and where the juice had dried up. 'and I tried to get back to sleep, I really did. Everything just came to me.'

Scizor relaxed his shoulders but his eyes were still fixed on Keldeo, his expression full of mistrust. Lopunny kept her eyes on him for a few more seconds before turning to Keldeo, again her face putting him in a much better mood.

'It's fine.' she smiled, raising her hand. 'We were rather loud now that I think about it Scizor. I'm just surprised that the others haven't woken up yet.'

'It was a nice sleep I'll admit.' Keldeo said wistfully. 'First proper one in a while. I guess the desert beds aren't so bad after all!'

Scizor said nothing. It was clear that Keldeo was trying to cheer him up and it wasn't working too well. However, Keldeo hadn't noticed and Lopunny was wondering whether or not to tell him to stop.

'I had a cool dream. I used my sacred sword on a rhyperior that was bullying some hoppip. I'm guessing I was thinking about the rhyhorn we met in that pub earlier. Anyway, when it was knocked out all it's friends decided to gang up on me but in came Cobalion, head lowered and charging full speed-'

'I don't tell that shot to anyone.' Scizor interrupted the story. Keldeo blinked, feeling guilty once again. 'That's some very deep and very painful experiences for me. And you were eavesdropping...'

'He didn't mean it...' Lopunny moaned, her ears slacking.

'I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you Sir Scizor.' Keldeo said, slowly walking up to them. 'I truly am. No pokemon deserves to suffer like you have but you did the right thing. You sought out what to do to counter your father and you managed to prevent anymore pain. It's admirable.'

Scizor closed his mouth, the two now feet from each other. Keldeo seemed to be looking at Scizor with the most genuine honesty he had seen from a pokemon for a while. Lopunny slowly put her hand to her mouth, really liking where this was going and hoping it would continue.

'...What was that you said earlier?' Scizor grunted. 'You said purpose?'

'Well,' Keldeo began to speak. 'It's what we all need. We need to create our purpose.' He looked at Scizor and Lopunny as if he expected them to cut across but when they didn't he carried on. 'I mean why did you guys become freedom fighters?'

'That's a bit of a stretch.' Scizor said, his eyes rolling.

'But you said you stopped a group of wrongdoers.' said Keldeo, switching his focus to Lopunny. 'What was it they wanted to do? Their plan?'

'They tried to summon a legendary pokemon and convert Charom into a wasteland that would turn the population into emotionless zombies.' Lopunny explained before adding; 'Not before they framed us and sent the lands authorities on a misleading hunt.'

'I see.' Keldeo nodded. 'It's quite a huge turn of events. I don't blame you for feeling the strain of it Sir Scizor. However you can't let that overwhelm you. Otherwise you'll lose the skills that act as the tools for you to scope out your purpose.'

'So you're saying that I need to keep fighting?' Scizor tilted his head, scrutinizing Keldeo closely. 'I mean that's all I ever thought I was good at and look where that's lead me!'

'Fighting with purpose.' Keldeo said calmly, emphasizing the last word. 'I'm sure you have more to offer the world than that Sir Scizor but if you manage to channel those abilities into actions that carry weight, be it self measured or not, you'll find something worth living for.' Keldeo moved in between Scizor and Lopunny, his turn to gaze into the night sky. 'You see where I'm from, we have pokemon that are capable of many great things. Science, protection, farming, you name it. But if they don't find the purpose they wish to use their gifts for then what's the point. I was never a warrior or a scientist or any of those cool things that pokemon are born with but I have something that makes up for all that.'

'A really cool attacking move?' Lopunny joked.

'Kindness.' laughed Keldeo. 'And with kindness I achieved so much. An act of decency is something you can look back at and feel good at what you did but it's also something you can use as a catalyst for future endeavors. Feels nice to do good things right? So you wanna do it again. It's the best sort of drug.'

'I don't see what this has to do with anything.' Scizor was unhelpfully stubborn but Keldeo was quick on his feet.

'And through using those skills over and over again for the right things, I developed a new lease of life and I know you can too. When times were at their most dire, I used my strengths to fulfill a need and in doing so expanded my own arsenal. My kindness came in handy in protecting those who I care for and in doing so, it assists in the work I go through to become a better sword of justice. If I can use my goodness to become a great fighter then perhaps you can use your great fighting to become a better pokemon. You just need to fight for the right things. Cos honestly...you got anything better to do?'

Lopunny and Scizor stood there in disbelief, staring at Keldeo with their mouths slightly ajar. It was interesting to note the way Keldeo spoke. Sometimes he would pause as if he was searching for the right word but other times he would begin a sentence quickly as if he had brainstormed a new idea or phrase. It never sounded as if he had just memorized these words off a book, rather he himself was discovering fresh pieces of knowledge as he taught them. It was clear that they had both underestimated Keldeo again. His words were covered with wisdom, a far cry from the timid and exhausted pokemon they had helped out in the desert plains. They knew that they were dealing with a completely unique creature.

'What's your biggest concern right now?' Keldeo asked Lopunny, although she had a feeling he knew what she was going to say.

'There are...There are two familiar foes out to get us in Shan'rala.' Lopunny explained slowly. 'Nidoqueen and Bisharp. One a deadly assassin who is borderline undefeatable, the other a complete psychopath who...' She shuddered but kept her nerve in front of the two men. '...who hates me and would love to kill me.'

'It won't happen.' said Scizor indignantly, shaking his head. Lopunny looked up at him and he carried on; 'I won't let it.'

Keldeo broke out into a wide smile.

'You see!' he exclaimed, his teeth shining in the dark. 'It was that easy Sir Scizor!'

'Wait...what?'

'You've just given your skills a purpose!' Keldeo said. 'If those two bad pokemon come looking for a battle then you aren't going to stand by and let them attack Lady Lopunny. You're going to...' His voice trailed a little as he realized the consequences of Lopunny being saved by her ex boyfriend. The last part came out as a little squeak. '...fight for a cause.'

Scizor looked back at Lopunny, his face cracking into a slight smile for the first time in hours.

'I think I know what the little guy is saying.' he said. 'Honestly, I might start relishing the confrontation with us and Bisharp and Nidoqueen and so should you.'

'I should?' Lopunny asked. Scizor nodded.

'We have unfinished business with them.' Scizor said, his eyes staring hard out into the night sky. 'If they find Keldeo, they find us and I for one look forward to it now. It's your chance to show Nidoqueen you're better than her.'

'I guess.' Lopunny seemed to be a tad more sprightly. Keldeo meanwhile was still internally damning himself at allowing this possibility for Lopunnny and Scizor to rekindle something. Okay sometimes my kindness can lead to other such problems, he thought.

'Just don't face Bisharp.' Scizor reminded Lopunny, his tone cross again. 'Make Nidoqueen your priority. Make her your...purpose? Am I doing it right?'

He glanced over at Keldeo.

'Uh yeah.' Keldeo muttered, his mind elsewhere.

'Wasn't too bad was it?' Lopunny smiled. She pointed down at the ground where Scizor's drink had previously splattered. 'Now if you could avoid that awful drink and place your focus on our tasks ahead then maybe we'll be a bit happier. Oh come here.'

Lopunny stepped forward and hugged Scizor tightly, taking him by surprise and squeezing Keldeo out of their little huddle much to his annoyance. Scizor hesitated before gradually wrapping his arms around her tiny frame and the two joined together.

'You're gonna be fine.' Lopunny whispered to him. 'Me and the others will stick by you no matter what. Isn't that right Keldeo?'

'...Yes.' Keldeo nodded, pushing his jealousy to the side for one moment. 'We're in this together.'

Scizor and Lopunny eventually disengaged from their embrace, her soft, sleak fur polishing his discoloring metal. Keldeo stepped back into the little unity, making them a trio again and they all stared out at the night sky. Much had been revealed tonight, not just about Scizor's past and psyche. Lopunny had been given a much needed reality check and she realized she owed a great deal to Primarina for crashing into the two mercenaries earlier otherwise Lopunny would have gotten ahead of herself. Keldeo meanwhile, had really come out of his shell and proven himself to be such an influence when given the chance. Although the path ahead remained daunting, they all knew that together they could overcome any opposition that dared to try and stop them.

* * *

The first rays of sunlight penetrated the dark veil surrounding Charom, beginning their shine on the northern parts. Sheasip City already had pokemon waking up and getting ready for work while the ice cold Aryil Town stood firm against the fiery blaze. However, the mighty Shan'rala desert covered a good quarter of the land and the northern section was subject to a particularly bright morning sun. The heat was enough to put many indoors for the day not wanting to subject themselves to this heat wave. However, nothing could deter the mighty blue pokemon standing a top a rocky peak overseeing the horizon with a keen eye, looking for any hint of his loyal companion who had went missing at sea. Cobalion swiveled from left to right, his feet crunching the stones underneath him. _The next part of the trail had to be somewhere_ , he thought. He dropped his knees and jumped down to a lower level of the hill with relative ease. The rocks splintered and there was a familiar gasp next to him.

'Anything?' Cobalion wasted no time in turning to his green friend, who was eying him crossly after a dirty pebble glanced off his long leg.

'No.' Virizion said, shaking his head. 'Terrakion says we've been approaching this the wrong way.'

'Meaning?'

'He's gone below. He won't be too long.' Virizion nodded over Cobalion's head to where the beast of a pokemon had headed. 'He was saying that since we've followed Keldeo's trail in a linear fashion and now we've entered an open area, the best we can do is cover north, east and west just to see if his essence is floating around.'

'As much as I hate to say it,' said Cobalion with gritted teeth. 'I think he's right. Look at this place. We don't know how big it is!'

Virizion nodded. They both remembered the panic they felt that stormy night, seeing Keldeo wash away in the wreckage before being crushed under that gigantic dark wave. Scary times indeed. Only thanks to their combined sacred sword did they render the force of nature ineffective against their bodies. After what felt like an eternity floating in the ocean, they had washed up on a beach on this strange land. The three swords of justice had wandered even longer until they caught sign of Keldeo's blue trail of essence which to their relief, meant he was hurt but alive.

'I can understand why,' Virizion said, commenting on the situation. 'but I wish Keldeo had just stayed put wherever he was when he came to shore. We could have easily found him.'

'My guess is still somebody found him first.' Cobalion theorized. 'If he had been injured on the ship then I reckon he would have stayed here but he's been hurt and is on the move. That can only mean something chased him.'

'Or is still chasing him.' Virzion said gravely.

'Thanks, I didn't need that.' Cobalion muttered before raising his voice. 'TERRAKION! Geez hurry up Teks we can't delay!'

There was a breaking noise down below where they were standing. Cobalion and Virizion glanced at each other before launching their four legged bodies off their standing point and slamming to the earth where their buddy was. Terrakion was scraping the sides of the rocky structure frantically and calling out to the wall itself.

'What are you doing!?' Cobalion asked him as Virizion calculated the situation.

'Coby! Viz!' Terrakion glanced over his shoulder quickly before resuming his attack on the stone. 'There's a pokemon here who reckons he's seen Keldeo!'

'There is?' Cobalion wanted him to elaborate but a squeaky voice interrupted.

'I don't want trouble!' it cried out from inside the wall that Terrakion was pummeling. Virizion laughed out loud in visible confusion.

'We're not police if that's what you're thinking!' Terrakion shouted, following the trail of the inner wall pokemons voice. 'We just need information! Tell us more!'

The other two swords of justice stepped forward. There was another crack and a tiny explosion of rubble, causing them to shield their eyes from the pokemon that had popped out the wall. Together, Terrakion, Cobalion and Virizion shook themselves off and faced off against their adamant foe which turned out to be...a Diglett.

'Oh.' Virizion blinked hard, not due to the bright sunlight.

'I can't tell you things!' Diglett pleaded, shifting from the vertical wall and to the ground where they could all look down at him.

'Why not?' Cobalion asked, his voice dripping with authority.

'If I've given a batch of mercenaries advice on where this bounty is then there are others who will certainly kill me in revenge if you end up as the ones who succeed!' Diglett explained. 'You know how news and rumors somehow manage to make themselves heard around here!'

It was Cobalion's turn to blink rapidly.

'Mercenaries?' he said in a confused voice before drawing himself up tall. 'This is our friend we are looking for. Do you know who we are?'

Diglett shook his head, and by that his whole body. Terrakion and Virizion looked at each other with exasperated expressions. _Oh boy here he goes again_ , they both thought.

'We're the Swords of Justice.' Cobalion said proudly. 'We're made up of Cobalion, Virizion, Terrakion and Keldeo. Four pokemon committed to bringing good, honor, truth and light to lands wherever we go. Any evil we see, we stop. Any need that comes to us, we help. The weapons we forge are our bonds and friendships. The weapons we use are our valor and wisdom. We are all for one, and together we are one for all.'

There was quiet in the desert after this statement apart from the rustling of the wind. Diglett sat where he was with an unreadable expression while Terrakion shuffled his feet awkwardly and Virizion held his head up to the sky waiting for the inevitable.

'...So you are mercenaries?' Diglett said skeptically.

'I...what?' Cobalion blustered. 'No...The Swords of Justice!' He looked round at the others. 'Guys?'

'Let's sit this one out Coby.' Virizion said in a rather mocking tone of sympathy. 'No we're not mercenaries. We are not from this land as you may be able to tell.'

'I guessed.' shrugged Diglett. 'Do you know where you are then?'

They all said no. Diglett chortled.

'Well this is quite the dangerous place you've wound up in.' he said, Cobalion's blushes subsiding. 'This is the Shan'rala Desert in the land of Charom.'

'...Charom?' Terrakion shook. Cobalion and Virizion stared open mouthed at this stament, their hearts picking up in speed.

'Yeah.' said Diglett, puzzled at their sudden mood swings. 'What's the matter?'

Cobalion stepped right towards Diglett, casting a towering shadow over the little mole.

'Tell us where you last saw our friend,' he growled, Terrakion and Virizion also joining him in interrogating Diglett. 'and what was happening to him at the time.'

'Uh...' Diglett shifted his eyes from side to side. 'I...I...'

'Now!' Cobalion barked. Diglett squealed, his insides breaking apart in fear.

'He...He was being chased!' he stammered madly, his head indicating an area right to Virizion. 'By a hunter! If you go straight that way like they did, you'll pick up his trail!'

Diglett did not even finish his sentence before the three pokemon all span round and began to sprint, their powerful legs galloping at a miraculous speed. It didn't matter how tired they would get, how much danger they were exposing themselves to. What mattered was where Keldeo was and how quickly they could escape this land.

'Charom!' Cobalion could be heard over the rushing of wind in all of their ears. 'I can't believe it! Charom!'

'Maybe we're being paranoid!' Virizion shouted, slightly ahead of the other two. 'How can we trust the legends!?'

'I am not taking any risks!' Terrakion roared, leaving cracks in the earth from where he ran. 'Those pokemon existed in the past! They were capable of exterminating entire civilizations!'

As Virizion and Terrakion argued their case on either side of him, Cobalion was completely focused. He never broke his stride as he ran. Never stumbled over the slightest obstacle. If what they had been told was true, if the myths about what this land contained held water then the only objective he had was to rescue Keldeo and then flee as far away from Charom as possible.


	10. Chapter Nine: Trained Killers

**Chapter Nine: Trained Killers**

There were times were Lopunny remembered back to her adventures with the Shining Beacons, even the less eventful moments where she and Altaria would occasionally look after the children. They would squabble, fight and throw tantrums irritating enough to put Lopunny off having kids forever but overall they were well behaved and kind enough, evident that Altaria's care had been applied very well. It was a shame that that nurturing skill had not rubbed off on Lopunny. Although, she thought, I doubt even Altaria could handle this nonsense.

'I'm hungry...' Primarina's moaning was driving everyone up the wall. 'And I'm more paranoid of Durant and Excadrill trying to scare me than any hunter that comes our way.'

'I have never,' Lopunny said under her breath as Keldeo trotted alongside her. 'met someone as childish as her.'

'Relax.' Keldeo said reassuringly. 'She'll come good. I think Excadrill and Durant will try and toughen her up.'

'Try being the key word.' Lopunny glanced over her shoulder at the three behind her, Primarina in the middle and taking turns to glare at Durant and Excadrill. 'She'll probably think that we're enslaving her. First with her stupid name now actually suggesting she mans up. Or womans up. Or whatever.'

It had been an hour since they left the cave. They six of them were now slowly making their way across the Shan'rala Desert, the surroundings becoming less rock structure oriented and now becoming a pure orange landscape. The sun was beating down on them harder than ever from the cloudless blue sky. In her small cloak, Lopunny reached down into the pockets, searching for her bottle of water. She felt around in the right pocket and only found the bottle of green medicine she used to heal Keldeo before rummaging around in her right.

'Aha.' she exclaimed softly, her fingers caressing the plastic. She took it out and opened her mouth wide, her dry mouth even more exposed to the sun. To her dismay, a small trickle emptied onto her tongue before it ceased, the slight tease making her even thirstier than ever.

'Great.' she muttered, turning round. 'Hey Primarina. Mind filling this up?' She shook her empty bottle as she came over, Excadrill sniffing the ground next to her in the hope of precious stones.

'What's the magic word?' Primarina asked, the two women coming face to face.

'Mind filling this up...now?' Lopunny waved the bottle under Primarina's upturned nose. 'See I'd rather not die.'

'Oh shame.' Primarina said under her breath, scooping the bottle from Lopunny and aiming into it. There was a splashing sound and Lopunny's wrist became soaking wet. A couple of drops fell before Excadrill's sniffing snout, sending him backing off.

'Thank you.' Lopunny found the words difficult to say as she retracted her bottle, preparing to sip the contents.

'With all due respect to Lady Primarina,' Keldeo said, watching Lopunny swig heartily. 'you could have allowed me to fill it up. I am a water type after all.'

'TOLD YOU EXCADRILL!' Everyone heard Scizor's voice ring out from ahead of the pack. He stood at the edge of an extremely deep sand dune, the sun radiating his red armour and waving at them like a madman. 'Told you he was a water type!'

'Okay fair enough!' Excadrill yelled back, cupping his claws round his mouth. 'But not all of them are blue remember!'

'I had no idea you were a water type.' Lopunny said to Keldeo, screwing the lid back on her bottle.

'Dual water and fighting type.' Keldeo said proudly.

'Now the fighting I can believe.' Lopunny smiled, miming a swinging sword motion with her hand playfully. 'Kind of sucks being normal type I'll admit but like you said last night; If I use my strengths I can discover my purpose.'

'I'm happy you think my advice is handy.' Keldeo beamed, his insides seeming to float away into dreamland. 'Many pokemon are too narrow minded and usually shrug off any advice that, forgive me for sounding condescending, sounds a bit too lofty for them to comprehend.'

'I think it's perfect advice.' Lopunny said, patting Keldeo on the back. 'Simple and effective for everyone.'

'I guess on paper,' said Primarina, nodding at Keldeo. 'That a water-fighting type sounds a little cooler than water-fairy which is what I am.'

'Fairy!?' Durant screamed in her ear, her yelp echoing through the desert. 'We coulda used folk like you when smiting the Rylus dragons!' He then mumbled something inaudible under his breath but the words 'fairy' and 'ponce' were definitely understood.

'P...Please.' Primarina looked as if she would faint again. 'Stop doing that...'

'I'll stop doing it when you actually retaliate.' Durant said defiantly. 'Little bit of pixie dust won't be too painful.'

'Yeah remember what we talked about yesterday?' Excadrill said in a far more kind tone than Durant's. 'Heck if you land enough good hits on us then we'll be more worried for any enemies that dare attack you.'

'Just stop being a victim.' Lopunny said bluntly, her arms folded.

'And you're okay with this?' Primarina asked, ignoring Lopunny. 'I mean you're a ground type, my water attack may do some serious damage to you.'

'I've had worse.' Excadrill smiled. 'Believe me.'

He raised his claw to place it on Primarina's shoulder before hesitating, remembering how opposed she was to him touching her. She noticed this and proceeded to blow a few bubbles his way, dousing his filthy hands in soapy water.

'Rub your hands together.' Primarina told him as Excadrill grew slightly alarmed at the fluorescent bubbles that had latched onto his arm. 'They'll get rid of the worst of the germs. Ninety nine percent at least.'

As Excadrill tried to learn this baffling new tactic, Durant tutted and turned to Lopunny and Keldeo, his pincers shining brightly from the dazzling sun.

'You're welcome.'

Lopunny blinked, her mouth twitching in confusion.

'For what?'

'You came through last night without any trouble.' Durant said. 'You have me to thank for scaring off intruders.'

'Oh yeah sure we do.' Lopunny curled her lip. 'That's why when I went for a walk you were fast asleep.'

'I...' Durant stammered slightly, clearly caught out by his lie. '...I may have nodded off at one point yes.'

'That one point being three quarters of the night.' Lopunny said. 'Oh and I talked to Scizor last night.'

'Okay. And?' Durant was clearly uninterested on whatever she had to say.

'It was...telling.' Lopunny said, remembering the emotional revelations. 'What was it you trained him? How to stop feeling?'

'Come again?' Durant said, his tone tinged with annoyance. Keldeo thought he may feel the need to jump in again to split these two up.

'He said that thanks to you, he was able to defend himself against his dad. He almost killed him. His dad may have been a monster but for him to turn from a shy boy to a trained assassin is really revealing you know? Says a lot about you.'

'To me it says a time of war calls for the most precise measures.' Durant told her. 'You never saw the things that the dragons did to us and we did to them. Bodies disemboweled, decapitated, villages on fire, bodies littering the landscape.' Durant nodded his head at the ground. 'We could be standing on a long dead corpse right now and you wouldn't know it. I got that boy to be the greatest possible warrior he could be so he could slot right into the moment.'

'You turned him into a weapon.' Lopunny growled.

'I made him a man.' Durant retorted, ignoring Primarina behind him assisting the perplexed mole with the art of washing. 'The only drawback is that he didn't kill his dad on the spot-'

'How is that a drawback!?' Lopunny roared, her anger boiling over. Her shout of fury echoed far and wide, startling Keldeo, halting Excadrill and Primarina's scrubbing process and even alerting the far away Scizor, who knew perfectly what they were talking about but not wanting to get involved.

'...If you'd let me finish, rabbit.' Durant growled, not taking a step back from an irate Lopunny. 'If he killed his dad there he would of gotten past his first kill. It's always an emotional ordeal and everyone hesitates when doing it. The bad thing is his first kill came a few days later and he definitely hesitated when he had the initial chance...a second too long. It gave the druddigon he faced just the right amount of time to stab Scizor's brother in the eye and blinding him.'

Keldeo gasped while Lopunny stayed quiet, her face dropping, the anger however still burning inside her. Primarina was so stunned at the heated conversation that was taking place that she did not notice Excadrill scratch his behind with his clean claw, rendering it back to its original filth. Keldeo realized Lopunny was clenching her cloak so hard that her veins were visible through her matted fur.

'Lady Lopunny...' he said gently. She breathed out at the sound of his voice and her grip slacked.

'Sorry...' she said, her arm falling to her side. 'I...I just...'

'Have you ever killed, young lady?' Durant wasted no time to continue playing with Lopunny's emotions.

'...No.' she said flatly. 'I can't say I have.'

'Do you plan on it?'

'I don't know.' Lopunny remembered Nidoqueen last night and her abdominal muscles seized up. '...Yeah. Yeah I could.'

'Well you're going to hesitate.' Durant told her point blank. 'No matter who it is. Could be complete stranger or a mortal foe. Either way it's going to show your true colours.'

'We'll see about that.' Lopunny said, her tone determined, refusing to let this foul old insect get his way. Twenty metres behind her, Scizor had lost track of his scouting. He had told Lopunny everything he wanted to tell her last night and was now prioritizing the mission he was initially reluctant to go on purely for the sake of her. He knew how worried she'd be and how with how much information he relayed, the more frayed her relationship with Durant would be. He knelt down, scooping some sand from underfoot and thinking of his past. It wasn't like he hadn't gotten over it. Gotten over what his childhood was like or even his brief moment of hesitation that irreversibly injured his brother, Zayden. Their relationship had never exactly been one to brag about. It was just how exposed he now felt to Lopunny. She knew him for months as a charmingly reckless and fickle bounty hunter and now she would believe that it was all a ruse to cover up the pain he felt inside. _It's not though_! he thought, clenching his claw and allowing the sand to trickle down back to the ground. _This is me. It always has been. Nothing, not even Lopunny, can change that_. As Scizor tried to stretch upwards to stand straight, his foot slipped down the edge of the dune slightly..

CLANK!

Scizor froze where he was, his heart in his mouth. Cautiously, he looked down to see where his foot was and felt it rubbing against the edge of something metal. He slowly knelt down again and gently brushed the orange sand off whatever it was that he had made contact with. As the dust cleared, it was revealed to be a small circular metal device with a red button in the middle of it. The sight of it was enough to make Scizor go wide eyed with dread.

'Ah.' he said, staring at the tool.

'What is it?' Scizor flinched as Keldeo came up behind him followed by the other four, Lopunny still glaring at Durant. Scizor took a deep breath and slowly rotated to face them, his friends wondering why he was twisting round with tiny little steps and looking so awkward.

'Uhhh...' Scizor said in trepidation, rotating like a broken record. 'Don't panic anyone but we're-'

Before he could finish his sentence, the soft ground underneath his right foot gave way. Scizor yelped as his whole body dropped down, his arms flailing forward hoping someone would grab on.

'Scizor!'

Lopunny lunged forward to grab his hand but Excadrill halted her where she was, preventing her foot from stepping on the steel device he had just noticed, his expression now stricken with fear. Everyone watched as Scizor tumbled at least twenty feet down the hill, his eyes shut tight to avoid sand infiltrating them and hoping that he would be incredibly lucky to avoid anything more.

'What is that?' Lopunny pointed down at the trap with a shaky finger as Durant held Keldeo back from going after Scizor.

'Yeah it's...' Excadrill clenched his teeth, his face screwed up as if he was in pain. He kept shooting looks down at the still rolling Scizor whose body was turning orange as it was engulfed in sand. On one turn, he felt a click under his back and his brain went into ultra-speed alarm mode. Without hesitation, he stabbed his long legs into the ground as he turned, launching himself from the crumbling hill and soaring through the air, his wings allowing him to somewhat guide himself. Primarina watched this with her mouth as wide open as a wailord swallowing its tiny food.

'What the-'

BOOM!

At the point that Scizor had just jumped from, an explosion happened, showering the radius with fiery gas. Lopunny ducked and jammed her hands on her ears while Keldeo screamed, twisting around and bashing his head off Durant. Primarina however acted the most radical. She instantly span to her right, squealing at the top of her lungs and released a huge water pulse which struck Excadrill directly in the chest, knocking him back several feet. He sat straight up, panting and wheezing, his eyes fixed on Primarina with sheer rage.

'Why did you do that!?' he screamed at her.

'I retaliated!' she yelped, her voice reaching extremely high levels. 'You told me to!'

'I didn't even hit you!' Excadrill roared, Primarina cowering before him. Meanwhile, Lopunny was leaning over the edge, her eyes peeled on a disheveled Scizor lying crumpled at the bottom of the ditch. He instantly shook himself off and looked around, wild eyed and frantic.

'Are you okay!?' Lopunny shouted down at Scizor who was standing to his feet. 'I'm going to come down for you!'

'Don't!' Scizor yelled out, halting Lopunny from going further. 'Stay where you are! Don't move!'

'Why!?' Keldeo cried in anguish.

'Isn't it obvious idiot boy?' Durant scowled, standing in between Lopunny and Keldeo and staring at the tiny looking Scizor in the far away bottom. 'We've wandered straight into a mine field!'

Keldeo gasped in fear while Lopunny clapped her hands to her mouth. Primarina appeared to have finished her grovelling apologies to a soaking wet Excadrill, his grey skin dripping with freezing water.

'Oh no!' she screamed, her fins flapping hysterically. 'I don't want to die! I don't want to die!'

'You won't if you stay where you are!' Scizor's loud voice made its way up to where they stood, disorganized and afraid. 'I can navigate my way out of this pitfall. Just let me-'

There was another burst of sand behind Scizor. He twisted round while his feet were planted firmly to avoid stepping on any potential bombs. Out from the ground emerged a short, squat pokemon with large buck teeth and a mean expression. In his hand he held a cylindrical triggering device.

'I got him!' the Scraggy shouted from left to right, him and Scizor standing feet apart. Either side of him, two more scraggies emerged undercover while on the same platform that Scizor's crew were standing, at least three others made themselves present from unseen. They all held the same trigger in their hands and their eyes were alight with malice. Primarina whimpered while Excadrill shook where he was, his inner anxiety taking over as he saw the distance between him and the nearest Scraggy. _I need to actually engage with him then I'll be fine_ , he thought, back to back with a terrified Primarina. _It's getting there that is the problem_!

'Okay okay.' Scizor faced the three Scraggy's opposite him, surprisingly relaxed in the face of danger. 'Tell me you guys aren't goons of Hoodwink are you?'

 _Hoodwink_? Lopunny remembered the name from last night.

'We are!' The lead Scraggy said proudly. 'And you just walked right into our trap!'

'So you admit you're goons?' Scizor rolled his eyes. 'Each to their own but I think that's kinda sad.'

'It don't matter.' Leader Scraggy said as his mates sniggered. 'Wait til we get the biggest bonuses ever when we snag both the asset and Scizor the Shining Beacon!'

'Why do you want to capture me?' Scizor said curiously. 'Thought you'd be happy blowing me to pieces so-'

'KELDEO NO!'

Lopunny reached for the back of Keldeo as he sprang to action, charging straight at the Scraggy that was approaching him. Durant missed in attempting to catch Lopunny and she clung on to the back of Keldeo with all her strength. The Scraggy cackled and flicked the lid on his trigger, pushing down on the button as Durant roared out.

'STOP!'

Before they could respond, another detonation took place feet away from Keldeo and Lopunny. The impact sent them both flying down towards where Scizor was. He cursed at the sight of this, attempting to charge off and see if he could catch Lopunny. However, one of the Scraggy's leaped straight at him and he only managed to deflect the drain punch as he prepared to take on all three of them.

'Bloody fools!' Durant grimaced, watching Lopunny and Keldeo plummet towards the earth. He looked up to see the scraggy approaching him with a mischievous expression. Durant lowered his head, his eyes becoming more frightening.

'I got an old yin here lads!' he shouted out loud. 'How much of his blood will come out powder? Haha!'

'You watch yer mouth ya pimply little cunt.'

The scraggy's face turned from gloating to mortified in less than a second as Durant launched himself at him, his pincers looking very sharp indeed. Meanwhile, Excadrill was attempting to calm Primarina down while at the same time praying that the two scraggy would hurry up and get near them so he could get stuck in and forget his fear.

'Just breathe okay!?' he consoled her as she took shuddering breaths. 'I have a plan!'

'Oh what's going to happen!?' Primarina wailed, the situation too much for her. 'What they going to do to me!? Shit they're getting closer!'

'You just need to stay still!' Excadrill said. 'Your water pulse was pretty effective earlier! Use that on them!' He turned back and forth, shaking his head and knowing what he needed to do. 'Just hit one of them. You have to.'

'What if I miss!?' Primarina cried to him. 'What if I miss and he just kills me on the spot! I should have just stayed at home I know!'

'You won't miss!' Excadrill told her, the scraggy now metres from them. 'Okay, they're too close to us to use their explosives so that means they're going to take us on with close combat. When I dig, use the water pulse.'

'Dig!?' she shrieked.

'Please?' Excadrill pleaded, his heart hammering hard. 'You have to trust me!'

Primarina gulped, peering over Excadrill's shoulder and seeing that both the scraggy's had entered their personal space.

'OKAY DUCK!' she screamed, throwing caution to the wind. Excadrill said the worlds quickest prayer to Arceus and scampered underground almost too quickly to believe. Primarina squealed and fired out another ring of water that struck the lead Scraggy in the face, catapulting him over his companion and leaving him in a heap. The other Scraggy was startled and couldn't even begin to comprehend what had happened before Excadrill reemerged behind him, grabbing him by the chin and wrestling Scraggy to the ground. Primarina watched with a sort of sick glee as Excadrill pummeled him to submission.

'We won!' Primarina said delightedly, watching Excadrill stand up and shaking himself off. 'Didn't we?'

'So far...so good.' Excadrill managed a faint smile. Primarina let out a 'yippee' and leaned forward to hug Excadrill only to backtrack, her smile fading slightly.

'Oh you got more mud on you.' she nodded down at his once tidy body.

'Ah shit.'

* * *

'Ugh...'

Lopunny tried to sit up but her head was fuzzy beyond belief. Her vision was distorted and there was an awful ringing in her ears that no sound of conflict around her could seem to drown out. She blinked rapidly to try and get back to her senses. Lopunny had landed in the large sand pit that Scizor had fallen down to minutes ago. As her vision slowly recovered, she saw something blue float in front of her. She attempted to catch it only for her hand to phase through the strange gas...

'Oh no.'

Lopunny twisted round, her back aching. Her fuzzy vision was clearing fast as if the adrenaline filling Lopunny in the dire situation was flushing away all hindrances. It was at least five metres away that she could make out the wincing and shuddering form of...

'Keldeo!' Lopunny staggered to her feet, awkwardly hurtling over to said pokemon who was moaning in agony. 'Keldeo! Are you okay?'

'Urf...' Keldeo groaned, his front legs splayed ahead of his upper body. 'I've been better. My right leg feels like it's been torched.'

Lopunny headed round Keldeo's body to check on his leg and her stomach turned.

'You're hurt.' Lopunny said, acknowledging the gaping wound that had opened up above Keldeo's hoof. 'Hang on a second, let me get my medicine.'

Lopunny reached into the pocket of her cloak which was still hanging onto her shoulders despite the violent toss of the bomb only to recoil her hand in pain.

'Ow!' she held her hand up to her face. A blob of blood was trickling out of her fingertip. 'Why..? Oh no!'

Lopunny turned the pocket inside out and a shower of glass poured out from the depths, leftover smears of green liquid staining the many pieces.

'It's broken!' Lopunny sucked on her bleeding finger and swore in dismay. 'Shit! What we going to do now?!'

'I'll be fine Lady Lopunny.' Keldeo said, gurning as he put pressure on his sore limb. 'What's going on?'

'Bit exposed.' Lopunny looked around her surroundings. She could see Scizor facing off against three scraggy's, refusing to take a backward step despite their intimidation methods.

'I know what you're planning.' Scizor said, analyzing their movement patterns. 'You have these mines buried around me and whatever direction I go in, you can try and blow me to hell.'

'Well we're at a stalemate then.' the lead Scraggy said, all three of their trigger fingers itching. 'You're sharp. You familiar with Hoodwink then?'

'Took one job from him a while ago.' Scizor shrugged. 'Tell him I resigned from that while I was ahead.'

With that, Scizor flicked up a rock from the ground and brought his mighty claw down upon the airborne object, cracking it into two pieces. He caught both shards and flung them to his left and right. They both hit the ground at the same time, the one on the right remaining intact while the left one falling on top of a metal object buried deep. Scizor smirked.

'Bingo.'

BOOM!

The rock had clearly struck one of the mines and caught the scraggy's off guard. It exploded, firing sand and pebbles up in the air. Using the confusion and surprise, Scizor launched himself to the right where he knew it was safe, his leg springing off the ground and firing into his opponents with a blinding speed. He kicked one of the scraggy's straight in the stomach, winding him. Scizor turned and ducked skillfully out of a one-two punch combo from his next opponent.

'We're coming to help you Sir Scizor!' Keldeo struggled to get the words out as Lopunny helped him to his feet. 'Let's get these creeps!'

'No! Don't move!' Scizor cried out, parrying another blow. 'You don't know where the explosives are buried.'

'He's right.' Lopunny rested her hand, exasperatedly this time, on the reckless Keldeo's back. 'Let's watch how the Scraggy moves. That way we know which paths to take without stepping on the mines!'

Keldeo resisted his urges to jump into the fray, knowing that Lopunny was right and aware of the stinging sensation in his leg. Lopunny saw Keldeo's blue smoke continue to emanate from the injury. She knelt down and covered the wound with her hand, careful not to touch the ravaged flesh.

'We can't risk your your location being exposed again.' she told him. 'Hang on.' She whipped the cloak off from around her shoulders and began to tie it round Keldeo's leg, the brown fabric beginning to soak with blood. Keldeo held his breath, his quickly beating heart not helped by Lopunny touching him with such soft hands. Down in the pit with them, Scizor was facing off with two of the Scraggy's with the third one nowhere to be seen, unnerving Lopunny to no extent. They both circled Scizor was crouched in a battle pose, his right claw ahead of him while his left held behind his back, appearing to make a gesturing motion as if he was inviting the unseen Scraggy to engage.

'Why do you want him?' Scizor asked, addressing the lead Scraggy. 'Keldeo? That Scrafty Hoodwink only deals in weapons so why are you trying to capture this pokemon?'

'He has something we want.' hissed Scraggy, his fists raised below his chin. 'What everyone wants. Some big things are planned ahead. You should be excited.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' snapped Scizor, his eyes narrowing. 'You realise that you're working with former Clan of Shadows pokemon that won't stop stabbing you in the back until they get what they want?'

'Does it really make a difference?' Scraggy asked, thumping his chest sharply. 'That's the way it's always been in Shan'rala. It's the way it's always going to be...At least for now.'

Scizor growled and lowered his arms, prompting the two of them to strike. It was exactly what he wanted. He ducked below the lead Scraggy's kick and span round, deflecting the multiple blows from his rear attacker. Scizor swung twice, the first one missing but the second one catching his opponent in the jaw with such a powerful force, Lopunny saw a tooth fly out of the Scraggy's mouth and consciousness leaving his eyes. However, this attack seemed to have exerted a lot of Scizor's energy. The leader Scraggy jumped and jabbed him right in the back of the leg, sending Scizor to the ground yelling. Scraggy then wrapped his arms around Scizor's head and turned his body sharply, throwing Scizor with a surprising amount of strength across the ground, his body bundling into the sand. As Scizor coughed and tried to shake sand out of his eyes, Scraggy flicked up his trigger, his finger hovering over the red button.

'No!' Lopunny broke away from Keldeo and darted towards Scraggy. Her arm reached over and twisted round his outstretched limbs, the two engaging in a grapple, Lopunny trying to force the switch out of Scraggy's hand. Keldeo couldn't adapt however, as the third Scraggy that had remained unseen had latched on to him. Keldeo struggled in vain but the searing pain in his leg proved a real liability. Scraggy number three popped up out of nowhere and shoved him to the floor, flipping their trigger around, the other end opening up and a sharp needle popped out. This sent Keldeo into an internal fit.

'That wound looks like a jag or two is needed!' the female Scraggy screamed maniacally, the tip of the needle glinting in the sunlight. She lowered the device, intending to siphon the continuing gust of blue steam pouring from the wound. Keldeo yelled out in terror as Scizor was still staggering to his feet and Lopunny was engaged in her wrestle. Suddenly, a pair of pincers burst upwards from the ground, clamping tightly around the wrist of Fem-Scraggy who let out a piercing shriek of pain and terror. The second the grip was secured, Durant's blood soaked weapons fired back downwards, dragging Fem-Scraggy down with him and jamming her entire arm into the ground. She struggled and whimpered, Keldeo watching apprehensively as she tried pushed against the ground with her free hand. There was a clatter next to him. Lopunny and Leader-Scraggy had separated at long last, the trigger they were fighting over now flying upwards through the air as if in slow motion. The two were now split apart by a five metre distance with Leader-Scraggy making the first move towards the air suspended device, so quickly in fact that there was no chance that Lopunny could make it there in time. As Leader-Scraggy reached out to seize his trigger, a Razor Wind struck him in the back of the head, the effective attack stunning him and giving Lopunny enough time to lunge forward, plucking the switch from the air. In the very next motion, Lopunny fired a powerful kick at the dazed Leader-Scraggy, propelling him backwards and landing in the same area Scizor was at. It was clear that he had cast the Razor Wind, his delayed response was simply him charging up. Scizor then punched Leader-Scraggy with a backhanded fist. He keeled over and Scizor skipped over to Lopunny who stood holding the trigger with a frantic expression.

'What do I do?' she asked Scizor. Over her shoulder, Excadrill and Primarina slid down the hill, the latter looking giddy with her surprise victory.

'Hit the button.' Scizor said to her, nodding at the groaning Scraggy. 'Do it.'

'But...that's where the bomb was!' Lopunny cried, Keldeo gingerly standing up, the Fem-Scraggy still immobilized by the underground Durant. 'He'll be blown up!'

'Yeah I know.' Scizor said as if this was obvious.

'No...' Lopunny shook her head, the trigger held in her trembling hand. '...I can't.'

'Ugh. Hate to do this then.' Quick as a flash, Scizor smacked the trigger out from Lopunny's slack grip and caught it, turning on his heel and facing his defeated adversary. Lopunny let out an anguished scream.

'Scizor! NO!'

Scizor pushed the button. The explosion went off straight underneath the Leader-Scraggy, the smoke and fire engulfing his body and ripping him to shreds. Keldeo yelled out while Excadrill covered Primarina's eyes with his claws.

'Fuck! You're a fucking monster!' the Fem-Scraggy yelled out, her arm still trapped. Lopunny stood where she was completely shell shocked. She could not believe what she just saw. Scizor had just murdered a defenseless opponent without even batting an eye. Right in front of Lopunny. She was speechless. It felt as if a family member had just sold her out to an enemy.

'Not nice.' Scizor said, dropping the trigger before turning to Excadrill. 'How did you guys do?'

'She subverted my expectations.' Excadrill smiled at Primarina who returned a wider one.

'I feel brilliant!' she exclaimed excitedly. 'Like I could take on anyone!'

'Let's not get ahead of ourselves.' Scizor warned her, turning to approach Keldeo next to the last remaining Scraggy, Durant's unseen grip strong as ever.

'I'm hurt Sir Scizor.' said Keldeo.

'I can see.' Scizor said, looking down at Lopunny's cloak tied round Keldeo's leg. The wound was covered almost entirely but every few seconds a little wisp of blue smoke sneaked its way through the tight bondage. _Hopefully that will be enough until we can get proper attention_ , thought Scizor before kneeling down in front of their new prisoner.

'What do you want with Keldeo?' Scizor asked Fem-Scraggy almost in a police-like tone.

'I'm not telling you anything.' she hissed. Scizor smirked.

'Durant.' he said blankly. Durant's pincer grip tightened, her circulation being cut off. She gasped and quivered more. Lopunny noticed out the corner of her eye that Fem-Scraggy's own eyes were beginning to water.

'I'm not gonna ask you again.' Scizor said.

'That's right!' Primarina shrieked wildly, alarming everyone. 'You tell us everything or we'll all kill you! I swear!'

'Calm down.' Excadrill said bluntly, providing the finishing touches to Keldeo's bandage. 'You won your first fight, it doesn't mean you're Tapu Bulu.'

Primarina flushed and seemed to restrain herself.

'Hoodwink...wants Keldeo.' Fem-Scraggy spluttered, her veins becoming more blue. 'He thinks that...the energy he releases can be weaponized.'

'I am not to be used for that purpose.' Keldeo said indignantly.

'Yeah I don't think they care.' said Scizor. 'Look, there are pokemon you're working with who are some of the most dangerous and evil warriors in the whole of Charom.'

'Don't give anyone a lecture on evil, Scizor.' Fem-Scraggy growled. 'You know better than anyone that there is no such thing in Shan'rala. And if there was, you're closer to it than most.' she nodded at the charred earth where her companion was. 'I'm not prepared to give the details of our plan out to the likes of you or that fucking normal type.' She then gestured her head at the still and silent Lopunny. 'The only reason you'd try and stop us is for your own self righteous benefit. You think you guys are heroes? Nah...You're just diversions.'

Scizor glowered at Fem-Scraggy while the others kept quiet. Keldeo was becoming consistently paranoid at just how much he was worth to these vile hunters. The buried Durant's mouth had almost sealed entirely shut with how tightly he was gripping Fem-Scraggy, who had knelt down and was rummaging through the sand.

'What are you doing?' Excadrill asked firmly. Fem-Scraggy pulled out a sharp shard of glass from under the sand and slowly waved it in front of Scizor's face which broke out into a laugh.

'You think that's gonna do anything to me?'

'It's not for you. It's for me.' Fem-Scraggy placed the razor sharp piece by her neck, sending alarm bells ringing through Keldeo, Excadrill and Primarina's heads. 'I should have done this years ago once the Shan'rala-Rylus war was over... See ya.'

With that. Fem-Scraggy shut her eyes tight and in one quick motion, drew the shard sharply across her own throat. Blood spattered all over Scizor and Excadrill. Primarina and Keldeo screamed and backed off while Lopunny was finally brought out of her stupor and clapped her hands to her mouth. Fem-Scraggy's throat had been cut wide open of her own hand, the weapon used falling to the ground and her eyes lolling backwards until they were pure white. Her whole body became limp as life crept away, part by part. Eventually, she had keeled over to one side, her back hitting the earth and her eyes staring blankly up at the sky. Nobody spoke. The only sound was everyone shuffling backwards to avoid the enlarging pool of blood coursing through the sand. Eventually, Scizor spoke up.

'Durant you can...you can come up now.'

Durant's head burst through the ground, sending chunks of solid sand flying. He shook his head and stretched his mouth up and down.

'That was getting taxing.' He turned to look at his prey only to see a bloody mess before him. 'Huh!? Did I do that?'

'No.' Scizor shook his head, his expression the same as Lopunny's was for the past few minutes. 'She did it herself.'

Durant continued to rip his own body and limbs out from the earth but his eyes were still fixed on the carcass, appearing to be deep in thought.

'I can't believe what I just saw.' Primarina shuddered, her face white as milk.

'No...' Keldeo squirmed where he sat, visibly distraught. 'This is my fault. It is my fault! Damn it!'

'Don't be daft it ain't your fault.' said Scizor, turning away and rallying his group. 'What we need to do is haul ass and get out of here. Keldeo, can you walk?'

'Just about.' said Keldeo, shaking his leg off and emitting several particles of blue steam.

'Right well make sure that is on at all times.' Scizor pointed at Lopunny's cloak-cum-bandage. 'It hides most of your energy source but good hunters can pick that out anyway. So we need to cover our tracks generally.'

'I can scout ahead underground for somewhere safe to stay.' Excadrill raised his hand. Scizor nodded his approval.

'You do that.' he said, prompting Excadrill to begin digging. 'Primarina, now that you've gotten your hands dirty, would you mind helping me bury these unconscious and dead scraggy's?'

'I suppose a bit more hard work won't kill me.' grunted Primarina before gesturing vigorously at Fem-Scraggy's corpse. 'But there is no way I'm touching that. No way. That can get to-'

'Fair enough.' Scizor waved his hand, silencing Primarina. On both of his sides, Durant and Lopunny were the ones still quiet and analyzing the situation. Durant was moseying the corpse of their fallen enemy with a look of scrutiny.

'What's the matter?' Scizor asked, seizing the body by the wrist and preparing to drag it into the side of the pit so he could cover it with sand.

'You're saying that she did this to herself?' asked Durant.

'Yeah.' confirmed Scizor, hauling Fem-Scraggy across the ground. 'Rather than reveal what they intended to do with Keldeo's power. Bit radical wouldn't you say?'

'...No.' Durant muttered to himself, watching Scizor continue his work. 'I wouldn't say so.'

Durant then turned his head to his left, his eyes meeting Lopunny's who had finally looked up from the ground at long last. There were almost sparks between them with this stare, totally unopposed as Keldeo had stood up and was slowly walking after Primarina to help her, his leg wobbly and letting out small clouds of blue. Lopunny stepped one foot backwards, allowing Durant's line of sight to fall on the charred and smoking remains of the Scraggy leader, his death nowhere near carrying the same weight and honour Fem-Scraggy's had. Durant gazed at this with a curious expression on his face, somewhere between contempt and...satisfaction?

'I'm guessing you did hesitate?' Durant said, his eyes still peeled on the black ground. 'I called it.'

'Yeah that's right.' Lopunny's voice was hoarse but defiant. She pointed ahead at the scarlet insect shoveling sand over the corpse. 'And he didn't. It was almost automatic to him.' Lopunny pointed a shaky finger at Durant, her face livid. 'I was right. You did make him a weapon.'

Lopunny shot one last glare at Durant before turning round and striding after Keldeo and Primarina, leaving Durant standing in the stream of quickly drying blood and Scizor entombing the dead body under the sand, ready to join the hundred others buried underneath, a long line of sacrifices for the sake of victory.

* * *

The hours of the day passed by with the speed of a shuckle. The sky became darker, the sun was dimmer and the two desert dwellers that would wander across the plains every hour had reduced to zero. And all the while, Bisharp never moved from his spot. He stood at the edge of the giant cliff, surveying the vast landscape with the keenest of eyes, not prepared to let anything suspicious pass by and even less ready to allow the apparent Shining Beacons of the desert to roam free. The one chance I have to make everything better and it turns out that running into bugs and bunny are inevitable. Out of pure instinct, Bisharp drew his blades across one another, the sheathing sound echoing far and wide. It was so piercing that the pokemon hidden deep underground could hear it and now refused to submerge.

BZZ!

Bisharp's communicator began to vibrate, causing his arm to shake. He sighed and tapped it once, the devious voice springing out of the speaker and annoying Bisharp a tad.

'Bisharp, are you present?'

'Yes Hoodwink.' he said exasperatedly.

'Good.' Hoodwink replied on the other side, sitting in his office and twiddling his thumbs. 'You'll be pleased to know that one of my agents in the field has produced a plan that will bring the asset to us. He is on his way to you guys to pitch it to you. Expect him to be there in around ten minutes.'

'Gotcha.' Bisharp replied, the tiredness beginning to hit him at long last.

'Is something the matter?' Hoodwink asked, noticing that Bisharp was being more dry than his already stoic self.

'Tired I guess.' Bisharp explained, twirling a blade in his hand. 'I've been standing in same place all day just waiting for something.'

'Something?'

Bisharp hesitated, tempted to flick the communicator off and get some rest but realized the alternative was going down to their camp and talking to Nidoqueen again.

'Apparently, some old...acquaintances of mine are working with the asset we're looking for.' Bisharp said, the golden sun hiding further behind the massive sand dunes.'It means that a rematch is on the cards very soon.'

'Oh I know that.' Hoodwink said with a chuckle. 'A good thing too. You see, I encourage my agents to express their actions in the most meaningful ways possible. If you bump into an old enemy while on a mission for me, I encourage you to incorporate overcoming that foe with my task. It...builds character shall we say?'

'Um...' Bisharp thought what Hoodwink was saying sounded really specific. 'If you say so.'

'These pokemon that work for me all have their reasons for doing so.' Hoodwink carried on. 'I'm glad that I've managed to inspire some extra motivation for you to do a good job.'

 _You didn't inspire anything,_ thought Bisharp, his eyes narrowing.

'Anyway,' Hoodwink's voice broke slightly due to his back stretching. 'got some more work to do. Keep an eye out for your new partner, he'll be arriving in a buggy. Happy hunting.'

'Catch you later.' Bisharp said, his expression still fixed to stern. There was a click and the communication was severed. Bisharp puffed out his chest before wincing, his arm reaching up and clutching his wounded chest. Bisharp breathed out hard, his fist closing and eventually pulling it away only for him to open his hand, seeing pieces of broken metal resting in his hand.

'...No.' the words came out as a whisper.

'No what?'

Bisharp whipped round, closing his hand again. Nidoqueen stood opposite him, her arms behind her back and an inquisitive expression on her face.

'Nothing.' Bisharp shook his head, subtly dropping the shards of his own body behind his back. 'I thought I saw something in the distance that I recognised but I was mistaken.'

'At least you admit that you make mistakes now.' Nidoqueen smiled, approaching Bisharp. 'Have to get away from those guys for a bit. All they do is talk about their desert shenanigans and I just can't relate I'm afraid. You'd have more fun chatting to them.'

'Doubt it.' said Bisharp. 'Hoodwink called me there. He said a new guy is on the way very soon to discuss a plan with us.'

'Yeah I was told earlier off Krookodile.' Nidoqueen then paused before she spoke again. 'Wait, are we not told about these things until the last possible moment.'

Bisharp snorted.

'Seems that way.'

'Do you think he knows?' Nidoqueen lowered her voice, the non existent wind making it easy for them to be heard. 'About how we are?'

Bisharp slowly looked left and right, checking if there were any unwelcome eavesdroppers nearby. He then stepped closer to Nidoqueen and adopted a hushed tone as well.

'Yes.' he said, his low voice husky. 'I reckon he's smarter than we thought.' Bisharp noticed a skeptical expression on Nidoqueen's face so he elaborated. 'I mean he seems a bit thick on the outside but he can't be an idiot AND build this elaborate business. He's pretty perceptive too I've noticed.'

'Either he's afraid of us or he's going to betray us.' Nidoqueen theorized before going back to her wicked grin. 'Once we get what we want with these new explosives it won't matter though.'

'I think it might?' Bisharp said with an inquisitive look. Nidoqueen shrugged.

'Maybe for you.' she smirked, gesturing at Bisharp. 'Not for me though.'

'What are you talking about?'

Before Nidoqueen could respond to an increasingly irritated Bisharp, a revving noise could be heard to their right, ceasing the potential argument. Nidoqueen and Bisharp glanced at each other, the engine chugging sound reverberating through the twilight desert.

'Must be our new friend.' Nidoqueen said. She and Bisharp turned to face the approaching figure, who had clambered out of the hastily cobbled-together dune buggy and began to clamber up multiple rock peaks. The slowly shrinking sun still managed to cast a dim light on their new ally although only Bisharp initially noticed as Nidoqueen shielded her eyes for a seconc due to the sudden shine.

'That can't be...' Bisharp muttered, recognising the familiar tall frame and body shape.

'What..?' Nidoqueen lowered her arm and her eyes widened. 'No way.'

The pokemon was finally revealed as he came up to the same level as them. Both Bisharp and Nidoqueen let out sounds of shock and relief when they realized their first guesses had been incorrect but neither of them could be blamed for their mistakes. The pokemon began to speak to them, the whites of his eye glowing bright in the Shan'rala sun.

'Okay. Here is what we are after. And we're all going to benefit greatly.'


	11. Chapter Ten: Scizor Vs Scizor

**Chapter Ten: Scizor Vs Scizor**

'Run that first bit by me again.'

Keldeo stood with an inquisitive expression looking up at a slightly exasperated Scizor, who was perched on the top of a palm tree. It was the first piece of plantlife any of them had seen in a good while and it was a sign things in the desert were about to become a bit more tropical.

'Those bombs are made by a Scrafty who calls himself Hoodwink. Think of that what you will.' Scizor said, listing things off the top of his head. 'The mercenaries he hires are after you. Or more specifically, your internal energy. '

'And the fact that I'm with you only makes the paycheck all the bigger.' Keldeo finished, nodding quickly. 'Cos you're kind of a big deal.'

'That's right.' Scizor gave a self satisfied smile, causing the semi-submerged Excadrill to shake his head, dirt flicking off his long snout. 'It's the perfect prize.'

'A weapons expert who wants to harness Keldeo's energy huh..?' Durant's mutterings sounded as crazy as ever. 'Of all the pokemon in Charom he wants to use the fairy goat?'

'Uh Sir Durant,' Keldeo said, keeping composed in the face of blatant offense. 'I'm standing right here.'

'I know...' Durant didn't even look in Keldeo's direction. Keldeo turned with an expression of bewilderment to Scizor still sitting on the thick tree.

'You get used to it.' Scizor tried his best at a sympathetic grin.

'I guess.' Keldeo muttered. _Doesn't mean I should put up with it though_.

It was the morning after their battle with the Scraggy squad. They were all happily surprised to find out Primarina was actually a really good cook, with her Magost berry souffle pleasing even Lopunny who resented saying anything good about her. The progress they had made was smooth, the weather becoming less harsh and little to no hostile pokemon seen. The lovely trees and infrequent pools of cool water were actually managing to make the Shan'rala Desert look somewhat presentable. However, a stark contrast was present in the moods of the 'Not-So-Shining-Rather-Filthy-Beacons' as Primarina had christened them. Scizor had taken it upon himself to be the new leader of the group, Keldeo's pep talk the other night obviously working its wonders. Keldeo himself was looking more at ease than ever despite his injury and Primarina had actually gone almost an hour without complaining and being condescending. Lopunny though, had distanced herself from the posse entirely, the closest she got to interacting with any of them was when Excadrill was travelling underground right beneath her without Lopunny noticing. What Scizor had done do the Leader Scraggy still loomed in her mind, present as the moon in the night sky. A while ago, Scizor had told Lopunny that he didn't kill others, at least not since the war was over. The fact that he did such a thing with a complete lack of remorse and no second thoughts made it so clear that it was just another lie Scizor told her. _Everything Milotic said about his personality was right_ , she thought, folding her arms and sulking. She angrily kicked out at a rock along the ground but her foot caught it awkwardly and now her toe was in a world of pain.

'Ow ow ow ow ow.' she hopped around, her hands clasped around her sore foot before almost bumping into the pokemon that had approached her.

'Woah watch it.' It was Primarina. In a way it was good that she came. It gave Lopunny something else to vent her frustrations on rather than an inanimate object. _She's about as much use as one though_ , she thought.

'What do you want?'

'Don't need to act snappish with me.' Primarina said with a glower.

'I know I don't need to.' Lopunny replied. 'But I want to. There's a difference'

'Childish of you much?' Primarina shook her head. 'I was actually going to ask you if you needed a refill of your water bottle but clearly you're just willing yourself to reject everything I do.'

'I mean you could say that.' said Lopunny, shrugging her shoulders. 'I would have said I could use Keldeo for that purpose but sure.'

'Cute.' Primarina managed a semi smirk. Lopunny folded her arms again and lowered her head, her ears flopping down over her shoulders sadly.

'I'm so tired.' Lopunny looked back up at Primarina, feeling that maybe a change of topic was best.

'I can see that.' Primarina said, addressing Lopunny's bloodshot and weary eyes. 'You shouldn't have gone wandering the other night then. It's going to take your toll.'

Lopunny stared at Primarina incredulously. She couldn't decide who she disliked most at the moment out of her, Scizor or Durant.

'Primarina, you realize that you're in more danger than you ever have been in your privileged little life?' Lopunny pointed in her face. 'I risked my life finding out that the two most dangerous pokemon in Charom are out here searching for us.'

'Privileged?' Primarina said loudly. 'You need to stop pretending you can act as some sort of relatable figure to these desert folk considering not so long ago you were in the same boat as me. Pokemon like you disgust me more than the ones who don't take care of themselves.'

'I'd rather hang out with a dirty, smelly desert dweller for an hour than spend another minute with you.' Lopunny hissed as Primarina's eyes moved up over her shoulder. 'See I actually did research on the war and the occupants of Shan'rala a long time ago and I can assure you that I know more about their substance and actions than just their cleanliness which is obviously a product of living in caves...Hey! Pay attention while I'm talking to you!' Lopunny barked, realizing that Primarina's eyes were fixed on something else.

'He sure can move fast.' Primarina said.

'Who?

'Scizor.' Primarina nodded over Lopunny's shoulder. 'He managed to make it on top of that peak without anyone noticing.'

Lopunny blinked four times in under a second. _What is she talking about this time?_

'Noo..?' Lopunny said slowly. 'Scizor? He's over there on top of the tree talking to the others?'

'He is definitely standing up there behind you.' said Primarina, gesturing forward more and willing Lopunny to turn.

'He's right there!' Lopunny took the initiative, hauling Primarina around by the shoulder and pointing at Scizor's dangling feet. 'See!?'

'Wait, what!?' Primarina was shocked, her head jolting from the tree to the peak at a rapid speed. 'But look up there!'

Lopunny sighed, turning round to see what Primarina was jabbering about before she froze on the spot. She hadn't been lying. Up on top of a rocky structure, a half-eaten bluk berry in his hand, was another Scizor. He was now looking down at Lopunny and the gang, one of his eyes white and scarred.

'Scizor!?' Lopunny called out, tilting her head backwards to project her voice while staring in astonishment at the newcomer.

'Oh what does she want now?' Scizor sighed, rolling his eyes and dropping from the tree. He and the others trotted over to where Primarina and Lopunny were, Scizor and Durant annoyed, Keldeo and Excadrill politely curious.

'Yeah?' Scizor grunted. Lopunny pointed upwards at the peak where the other Scizor was, black berry juice dribbling from his mouth. Scizor stood there for a few seconds perfectly still, his height making sure nobody knew the foul expression brewing on his face.

'Fuck.' he snarled, advancing forward and brushing past Lopunny. His doppelganger shoved the last of his food in his mouth before stepping forward and casually dropping at least ten feet to the ground, the sand bursting upwards when he landed.

'What are you doing here!?' Scizor advanced further forward, the others following in his wake.

'To make sure you're doing what I told.' said Zayden, wiping his mouth and coming face to face with his brother. 'You not been running around with friends old and new have you?'

'Oh no...' Scizor shook his head with a sad smile. 'You still think I'm going to do your dirty work?'

Lopunny opened her mouth, about to ask who this was until she noticed the heavily damaged eye on Zayden and her memory sparked to life. She almost raised her hand to her mouth before thinking that would make it obvious that she had heard about him so instead, Lopunny began to play with her right ear. Zayden glanced behind Scizor at the unruly quintet accompanying him, his working eye following the subtle and faint stream of blue slipping out of Keldeo's bandaged leg.

'Glad you found him.' Zayden nodded at Keldeo. 'You haven't got far to go. All we need to do is-'

'We're not going.' Scizor interrupted, holding out his claw. 'Besides, even if we were there would be nothing we can do. Keldeo isn't a healer. He's a fighter. Kind of.' he shrugged, gesturing back at Keldeo.

'Sir Scizor, who is this?' the young unicorn asked, shifting his leg out of Zayden's line of sight.

'Everyone meet my brother.' Scizor flourished his arm dismissively in his direction. 'I know we look quite similar so to avoid confusion you can call him Zayden.'

'Your names Zayden?' Primarina said, her voice returning to its high variant when addressing the other handsome scizor. 'Then what's his?' She nodded at the original. Scizor, Zayden, Lopunny and Durant all told her loudly to mind her own business. Primarina looked offended and shrank down, muttering to herself about the injustice of nobody calling her Lucina.

'That's your brother, Sir Scizor?' Keldeo managed a courteous smile. 'Nice to meet you Sir Zayden. Must say you look...badass?'

'How?' Scizor scowled at him. Keldeo was taken aback.

'Oh just...the scar...it's quite cool.'

'How is a scar cool?' Scizor asked, folding his arms. 'It means you got your ass kicked. That isn't badass. If you don't have one now that's a sign of coolness.' He gestured at himself arrogantly. It took Lopunny all her strength not to remind Scizor of what Durant had told her. How Scizor had been at fault for Zayden's injury.

'Long time, no see Durant.' Zayden said, ignoring Scizor's jibes and nodding at the crusty old bug. It was impossible to tell the expression in either of their faces. It was almost as if Zayden was addressing Durant with appreciation as a worthy opponent. Durant gave a rigid bow with his head.

'It has.' he said, his mouth barely moving. Next up, Zayden's eyes met Excadrill who gave a gormless smile.

'You remember me?' he said brightly. Zayden looked up and down several times before shaking his head.

'Afraid not.'

'But that was only the other...day...' Excadrill's voice faded sadly. Lastly, Zayden caught sight of Lopunny and his lip curled upwards.

'See now this really upsets me.' Zayden said, swishing his claw in between Lopunny and Scizor. 'You just can't let go of your fifteen minutes of fame so you bring your lady friend along for the ride. How many times has she avoided death?'

'She's avoided death the same amount of times you've obtained victory. Zero.' Scizor spoke up before Lopunny could. _Thanks Scizor I can handle myself_ , she thought, her internal voice gritting her teeth.

'Well this opens up a whole new can of wurmples.' Zayden chortled, scratching his head as Durant took the statement literally, his eyes scanning for said item. 'I don't know what dad would say if you brought her back and explained who she is.'

'Good thing I'm not going back then isn't it?' Scizor said, poking Zayden in the chest. 'You'd have to be insane to think I'd be coming with you.'

'Where to?' Lopunny asked although she had a funny feeling she knew the answer.

'I entrusted my dear brother with bringing...What was his name? Keldeo?' Zayden affirmed before continuing. 'With bringing Keldeo back to our father in the hopes that he could nurse him back to full health. See he isn't feeling well, maybe on his deathbed who knows. Since we're both fantastic sons we could-'

Zayden didn't have time to finish his statement. Scizor jammed his forearm against his brothers throat and shoved him back several metres, everyone exclaiming loudly at this sight. Scizor pinned Zayden up against the rocky wall he had jumped from, their faces centimetres from each other.

'The answer is still no.' Scizor growled, some spit flicking off Zayden's metal face. 'Even if there was some way to cure him I'm not going back to Fort Dolorem.'

'You'll be pleased to know it ain't a fort anymore.' Zayden struggled against Scizor's grip. 'The dragons made short work of it.'

'Fort Dolorem?' Excadrill whistled. 'I haven't heard that name in years.'

'What's Fort Dolorem?' asked Lopunny but nobody answered. They were too invested in the sibling rivalry before them.

'I'm not going back and you should have never went back.' said Scizor, his hold still strong on Zayden. 'There's nothing left there for either of us.'

'Maybe not for you but for someone who didn't end up as a national hero, what choice do I have?' Zayden said, his voice lower than Scizor's. 'Do you have any idea what it's like to know that you're off saving Charom and being revered far and wide while I'm stuck in this god forsaken desert, cleaning the shit off my dads bed while I get verbally tormented by him for my trouble? You have no idea how close I got to just euthanizing him on the spot.'

Scizor said nothing, his forearm ever so slightly sliding downwards from Zayden's neck. Lopunny stood in shock, feeling more pity for Zayden at this point than Scizor while Durant shook his head, his pincers retracting into his jaw. Primarina hiccuped slightly and managed to hide her face from Excadrill turning around.

'Sun was in my eye.' Primarina wiped a tear away.

'...I don't care.' Scizor released Zayden from his imprisonment. 'It's not that I've discovered some new lifestyle and responsibility is abandoned. I have new purposes.' He tipped his head back at Keldeo. 'It's that I want to kill the past. Let him die. I want nothing to do with him.'

'But...' Zayden was dismayed, his good eye pleading. '...I told you it's what mom would have wanted.'

Scizor shook his head, his face switching from enraged to sad when the other parent was brought up.

'She's dead Zayden.' Scizor said, his arms falling to his side. 'It doesn't make a difference what we do, she'll still be gone. You need to let go.'

'Sir Scizor.'

The two brothers ceased their emotional stare off and turned to look at Keldeo, who had stood up straight as if there was no injury.

'I want to help.' Keldeo stepped forward, coming to face Scizor who was affronted by his announcement. 'The Swords of Justice never turn down a pokemon in need. I'll do what I can to make sure your father gets better.'

Scizor gawked at him incredulously while Zayden gave a shaky but approving nod.

'You do realize we aren't your Sword of Justice friends right?' Scizor said to him as Primarina and Excadrill glanced at each other in surprise.

'Well for as long as I am separated from them I'll carry on their deeds.' Keldeo said, glancing at Lopunny who managed her first smile in ages, albeit a confused one. 'I'd like to think this can inspire many others.'

'There is nothing that can be done!' Scizor stated loudly. 'He needs curing and newsflash guys, Keldeo's mysterious blue smoke doesn't do that shit. It does the opposite. It kills.'

'Do not call me a killer, Scizor of Shan'rala.'

Everyone stepped sharply backwards at the volume produced by Keldeo. He had remained patient and polite every step of the way thus far but Scizor had finally tested his limits. He stood facing the red bug with a determined expression on his once civil face.

'What powers I was blessed with is out of my control but what is in my control is how I use them. The opposite of yesterday when you used powers you were not blessed with to exact brutality on a defenseless pokemon. If anyone is the killer here it's you.'

'Oh shit.' Excadrill whispered hoarsely to himself. Durant actually managed a small smirk at the backbone that Keldeo had grown before looking up at the stunned Scizor and grateful Zayden.

'He's made you look a right tool.' Zayden murmured to his brother. Lopunny actually bit down on her knuckle to prevent herself from making a noise of glee.

'Sir Zayden, you should lead the way to your dad.' Keldeo said loudly, seeming to swipe all leadership away from the visibly disgruntled Scizor. Zayden smiled in appreciation at this.

'Wherever Keldeo goes we go.' Lopunny spoke up. 'So you can count me in and the rest of them.'

'Lopunny...' Scizor's voice was dry and defeated.

'I know what you're thinking Scizor and I get it.' Lopunny finally managed to convey sympathy with him at long last. 'But maybe things can work out well from it. Maybe you and your dad can make some form of amends.'

'Well I'll go too.' Excadrill said, scraping his claws together. 'I actually think we're not a bad little team!'

'Again I think my choice is to be made for me.' Primarina rolled her eyes. Durant snorted and Lopunny took this to mean 'yes'. Zayden bounced on the balls of his feet, clearly overjoyed at the response.

'Then what we waiting for?' he said, his worn and torn wings fluttering slightly. Zayden pointed to the west. 'Several miles down that way. About three quarters into the travel we have to scale a narrow gorge so watch your footing. Need some chow? I got berries in my bag.'

Everyone rallied around Zayden, Keldeo apparently leading with his best foot forward. Scizor stood where he was as they began to trudge up the sandy slope where Zayden had directed them, now five metres away from him.

'Where are you going?' Scizor asked loudly. 'Come back here.'

'We're wandering around aimlessly Scizor!' Lopunny cried out in exasperation. 'The least we can do while we wait for Keldeo's friends is actually lend a helping hand to those in need.'

'I know that.' said an annoyed Scizor, the whole crew seeming to put him on the spot. 'It's who it is that you're helping! Remember what I told you about him!?'

'Nothing good will come of holding onto past grudges bud.' said Excadrill. 'You're stronger now. So much stronger, you can move past this.'

'Like you said Scizor...' Time for Durant to chime in. '...Kill the past. Put your affairs in order with him before he becomes a one with the desert wind.'

'When did you get all pretentious?' Primarina asked. Durant shrugged.

'I have my moments.'

'Guys...' Scizor reached out, his teeth clenched. He didn't want to go. He didn't want them to go. It was rare that Scizor found himself in such vulnerable positions but here and now he was standing in between being isolated from his duty of care and going back to the place that had made his early years the worst of his life. How could he?

'Scizor...'

It was Lopunny. She had finally released herself from the shackles of disapproval and had stepped towards Scizor. Despite what he had done yesterday, she remembered her own duty of care when she had the discussion with Scizor about his life two nights ago. How she could help him the same way he helped her, and together they could go stronger.

'You're not the only one who's suffered.' Lopunny said kindly, taking Scizor by the arm. 'Your brother has been facing his fears for ages now. Maybe it's time you do the same.'

'Often the things we most need are guarded by what we most fear.' said Keldeo.

'I can philosophically muse too.' said Primarina, causing Excadrill to snigger before holding his claw to his mouth, slightly embarrassed on doing so. Scizor looked down at Lopunny, overcome by her ability to forgive. He hadn't told her why he had killed the Scraggy in front of her nor had he been fully honest on everything he had done. Scizor didn't know if he wanted to tell her...but perhaps the visit to his old home would act as the revelation she needed.

'...Okay.' Scizor finally said, much to the relief of Lopunny and the appreciation of Zayden. 'I ain't got anything better to do anyway.'

* * *

The journey took them all at least three hours. Zayden actually had not exaggerated on how close Fort Dolorem was but the terrain and ground were the most treacherous any of them had come across yet. From marshes to jagged rocks to the forewarned narrow cliff that Keldeo, with his sore leg, had to be rescued from falling off by Zayden. It was difficult to tell who was the most annoying at the moment, with Excadrill bragging about his ability to avoid danger by burrowing to Primarina taking almost fifteen minutes to pluck up the courage to join them on the thin ridge. While still sunny, several clouds had passed overhead, occasionally blanketing them in relative darkness and it looked as if this would continue for the rest of the day. Eventually, they troop pulled up before a vast area of sand peppered throughout with what looked like the remains of buildings. The rock they were made from was grey and cracked, their whole structures semi-buried under the ground, having not been occupied in a long time. Scizor stepped out in front of Zayden, the other five appearing on the brothers sides in order to take a good look.

'It's been so long...' Scizor said, placing one foot on the downwards slope leading to the area. 'Years in fact. It's all gone.'

'Was reduced to rubble in the second year of the war.' said Zayden sadly. 'There used to be troves of treasure here. Absolute mountains of gold, jewels and artifacts hidden underground but it was shifted far away when we received reports of an impending attack. The dragons achieved nothing other than leveling this place to the ground.'

Excadrill whistled through his nose.

'Any idea where this treasure is?' he said. Lopunny elbowed him in the ribs.

'This place was once a fort?' Keldeo took a sweeping look for his own.

'Yep. A large one too. It stretches for half a mile up there. Anyways,' Zayden nodded to their right and down the sandy slope. He was directing them at a small opening encased in poorly set metal embedded in the sand. The seven of them trotted downwards, Keldeo's unsteady legs wobbling, and approached the strange little homestead. Zayden stepped forward but was suddenly stopped by Scizor who had turned to face the crew.

'I think you three should stay outside. No offence.' he said to Excadrill, Primarina and Durant. 'Shouldn't stretch the numbers.'

They all voiced their agreement, Primarina doing so in a timid voice.

'I mean they can come in if they want...' Zayden said to his brother. 'You never know what might appear.'

'Trust me on this.' Scizor replied, tapping Zayden's chest armor.

'I think I should too...' Lopunny made to step back but Scizor yanked her forward by the arm.

'Nah you're getting the full experience.' he said rather harshly. His grip was rather tight and Lopunny made sure to give her arm a vigorous massage once she let go. The other three stood back and allowed Scizor, Zayden, Lopunny and Keldeo to duck down and enter the homestead. Excadrill watched until their frames left their line of sight and turned to Primarina and Durant, the latter puffing out his nose.

'Wanna go exploring?' he asked, acknowledging Primarina nodding before noticing the look on Durant's face. 'Something the matter?'

'Hmm...' Durant continued to scrutinize the remains of Scizor's home. '...I'll be honest with ya. I'm surprised Zayden hasn't topped himself just like the Scraggy did.'

'Well you should always remain positive right?' Primarina said, looking around their desolate remains. 'Never give up hope?'

'...Sure.' Durant muttered, his mad eyes scanning the horizon as the other two got to work exploring their surroundings. '...Implying that hope is in sight...'

Meanwhile, Zayden had dropped down the last few steps of their old home and waited for the others to come down. Scizor was staring around in awe and nostalgia, his entire childhood flooding back into plain sight. He remembered walking up those steps every day to go outside and interact with the inhabitants of Fort Dolorem before the dark times. Before every pokemon there committed themselves to the art of fighting and winning. Although his memories were mostly of the bad variety, Scizor would be lying if there wasn't a twinge of him missing an actual home instead of bouncing from place to place.

'You ready?' Zayden said, his hand clenching on a drape covering a doorway. He seemed to have an anxious look on his face as if he was apprehensive of the plethora of reactions that would ignite.

'...Yeah.' Scizor nodded firmly, reaching across his body and slowly dragging his claw across the rustiest part of his armor, causing a scraping noise. Lopunny could have sworn a spark had been ignited from the friction. Zayden took a deep breath before swiping the drape to the side and stepping in.

'Zayden!' a voice even gnarlier and fouler than Durant's emitted from inside that room. 'Is that you, Zayden?'

'Yup.' he said flatly. As Scizor followed, he felt a hand touch his right claw and realized that Lopunny and softly taken hold of his arm. As much as he may have needed it, he was aware of the backlash that could explode on him if his dad saw it.

'Where have you fucking been!?'

As Zayden and the others entered the room, their eyes all fell upon the central sight in the room, the contents slightly twisting Lopunny and Keldeo's stomachs. Lying spreadeagled across a filthy bed, it's grey sheets stained with numerous liquids, was a third scizor. This one retained none of the handsomeness of his two sons, his armor had discolored so badly that it was basically brown at this point. Papa-Scizor's eyes were bloodshot and worn, and Lopunny was startled to see that his right claw was nowhere to be seen, a cracked stump where it should have been. She assumed it had been sliced off years ago. Papa-Scizor was lying on his side muttering tiny whispers to himself as Zayden approached, his mouth drooling. Scizor stayed where he was, the shadows of the room rendering him unseen.

'I was out.' Zayden said flatly, picking up a matchbox from the damp ground and pulling one out from it. The place stank of something moldy, the very air making Lopunny queasy.

'Out where?' Papa-Scizor twisted and sat upright, his eyes staring in different directions. 'Come on, out with it!? Off seeing some cunt about another fucking sand stick in danger? Ayyy, I know what you're all about you little bastard.'

In one motion, Zayden struck a match off the box and lit the tip, the whites of his injured eye shining bright in the glow. He lowered it on to a thin candle standing on a tiny table, the melted wax engulfing it entirely. Papa-Scizor began to blink harshly at the new light and Scizor felt the familiar tight feeling in his throat. The feeling of anxiety and pressure. There was no going back though so he knew standing his ground was imperative.

'Dad...' Zayden said, facing the ground. Papa-Scizor opened his eyes again and saw him. Then to his right and out of the darkness illuminated, his youngest son. The drool from his mouth separated and dropped with a splash on to his sheets.

'It's me.' said Scizor, Keldeo and Lopunny right behind him.

'B...Blaze?' Papa-Scizor uttered the singular word, his arms and legs quivering. Lopunny looked up at Scizor quickly, her mouth slightly open.

'Blaze?' she said. Scizor and Zayden nodded.

'That's his name.' Zayden said as Scizor walked forward. Lopunny stood where she was, unable to move. She had no idea why but her eyes were brimming with tears. She liked the name. Blaze. However, her feelings of jealousy and rage at Scizor for not revealing that to her himself were quickly overcoming.

'You...' Papa-Scizor scrambled upright, his back scraping against the rocky wall. 'What ya doing here!? Here to kill me? Ahhh get back! Get back!' He swiped his good claw out in front of him despite Scizor being several metres away. 'You think ya can come back here after all these years? Yer not welcome!'

'Oh really?' Scizor asked dangerously, pressing his claws on the foot of the bed. 'And who's gonna kick me out? You?' His claws dug deeper into the mattress. 'I'd like to see you try.'

'Take it easy.' Zayden said to both of them. Papa-Scizor's disgruntled gurning intensified when his eyes fell on Lopunny and Keldeo, both outsiders incredibly nervous.

'And who the fuck are you!?' he shouted, banging the wall next to him. 'I don't want no rabbit bitch in my house! Or whatever the fuck that is.' he pointed at Keldeo.

'Charming.' Lopunny folded her arms.

'Mind yer manners, cloth ears!' Papa-Scizor almost wrenched himself off the bed before his sons slammed him back down. Lopunny tutted loudly.

'It's like Durant had a baby with Nidoqueen.' she muttered quietly, shuddering at the concept. Being too brave for his own good, Keldeo trotted towards the bed up next to Zayden.

'Sir Scizor.'

'What?' all three of them said at the same time. Keldeo paused for a moment before reiterating his phrase.

'Scizor senior.' he addressed Papa-Scizor whose jaw was swinging wildly as he continued to whisper madly to himself. 'I can see that you're in poor health but you need not worry. My name is Keldeo and if you'll let me I can help you back to your best'-

'Don't fuckin' touch me.' Papa-Scizor grumbled, swishing his stump in Keldeo's direction. 'I ain't havin' some wet horse thing stick his horn in me lookin' for shit to steal.'

Keldeo gulped, his expression crestfallen. Scizor's face was adorned with a form of venom most associated when addressing someone who killed a family member. His eyes were almost slits and he was bouncing on his feet as if he wanted nothing more than to reach forward and slice his father into a hundred pieces up.

'Fuck knows why you bring your sorry arse here, Blaze!' Papa-Scizor scowled at his son. On her right, Lopunny saw a shelf carrying an assortment of bottles. To her delight, one of them was a small container of the green medicine she had used to patch up Keldeo. _Perfect_ , she thought, turning round discretely.

'Trust me pops,' Scizor said in a stinging tone. 'if I had my way I would never cross your path again.'

'Ya brother has been here though!' Papa-Scizor growled, gesturing at Zayden. 'What's your excuse?'

Scizor opened his mouth to retort before closing it. _No point is there_ , he thought. _I could tell him every piece of truth and he'd still dismiss it_.

'You are pathetic.' Scizor said, not trying to hide his volume.

'Blaze please...' said Zayden, visibly cringing but Papa-Scizor was paying attention to something else.

'What you doing over there!?'

Everyone turned to see Lopunny receive the fright of her life, the bottle of green medicine dropping to the ground and rolling under Papa-Scizor's bed. She stood where she was with a guilty smile.

'Sorry!' she said, directing the apology at Zayden. 'Just I wanted to use that medicine for Keldeo's foot. Leaves a trail see?'

Zayden sniffed, rather haughtily. Lopunny scampered forward to retrieve the bottle under the bed, aware of at least one of Papa-Scizor's eyes on her.

'I'll just go get it-'

Lopunny's outstretched arm was swiped aside by a long red leg. She looked up in annoyance expecting to see Scizor's father but surprisingly it was Zayden who had rather forcefully brushed her hand away with a swift kick.

'I've got it.' he said, crouching down. Keldeo raised his eyebrows at this odd maneuver. Lopunny was about to question this but her prepared thoughts were interrupted.

'Who do you think you are, thinking you can do whatever you want in my fucking home you slag?' Papa-Scizor snarled, angling his body to face Lopunny, his smell absolutely reeking. 'Blaze, how do you know this normal type?'

Scizor smirked. Out of the corner of her eye, Lopunny noticed him flicking his claw backwards, prompting Lopunny to take a hasty step away from the inevitable conflict.

'She's a friend of mine.' Scizor explained, his dad staring at him now. 'Actually...She's more than that.'

Papa-Scizor continued to eyeball his son while Zayden held his breath, the bottle of medicine clutched in both hands. Keldeo stepped in front of Lopunny, his horn lowered and ready for anything.

'More..?' Scizor's fathers face slowly turned white, both his eyes fixing on the same things finally. A look of absolute disgust flitting between Lopunny and Scizor. He then let out a horrible shriek.

'You filthy blood traitor!' he flailed his arm, throwing his manky sheet off the bed. 'Mingling with this scum! Our bloodline will reach extinction thanks to you, the proud scizor race gone! What would your mother say!?'

Scizor snapped. As his dad lunged upwards with his arm out towards him, Scizor deflected the incoming attack with a supremely powerful swing. To counter, he moved lightning fast across and seized Papa-Scizor by the neck, pinning him back against his bed. Zayden yelled out and tried to throw Blaze off him but he wasn't as physical as his brother.

'Scizor...' Lopunny put her hands to her head while all Keldeo could do was watch.

'I can't create a kid with her!' Scizor snarled, his spit showering Papa's face. 'It's nothing about preserving our lineage. The day I left here all those years ago it was my goal to see that I would never turn out like you. Not one part of me. And if you try bringing mum into this then I'll cut off your other arm.'

Scizor eventually let go of his wheezing father, blood trickling from his mouth. Zayden grimaced, the bottle of medicine falling to the floor again. There was no noise apart from the heavy breathing of Papa-Scizor but if a mind reader was present then Lopunny's thoughts would deafen the entire area. _Was Scizor the one who cut off his dads arm? Is this Scizor proving he wanted a future with me or was he just using me as a tool of defiance. His name as well, Blaze. When was he going to tell me that if ever? How much more do I need to dig from him_? Her thoughts were interrupted by the slow footsteps of Keldeo. She shook her head back to its proper senses and turned to see the unicorn slowly trudging away behind the drape, his body language low and sad.

'Where are you going?' Lopunny asked, all three scizors looking up. Keldeo looked round at her, the formerly present feeling of butterflies at every sight of Lopunny diminished.

'Out of here.' he said blankly, turning away.

'Thought you were going to help?' said Zayden sincerely. Keldeo didn't even address him with his retort.

'Well who would I start with?'

And with that, Keldeo swept aside the curtain and disappeared out of sight, leaving Lopunny to deal with her volatile sort-of boyfriend and his appalling family.

* * *

POP!

This time Primarina was ready for it. She span round ninety degrees to her right, preparing her own counter attack in the form of a bubblebeam. To her delight, Excadrill stood where he was, drenched in mud but a happy expression on his face.

'You have it now!' Excadrill exclaimed in delight. 'You don't freeze! And you actually know not to attack me if it's a drill!'

'I feel terrific! I'm on a roll.' Primarina ceased charging of her water attack and looked around. 'I don't envy anyone who tries to ambush us. They'll be facing the sheer power of a bubblebeam.'

'The sheer power of a...Never mind.' Excadrill shook his head with a wry grin and wiped some dirt away from his eye. Primarina took another look around. She found the whole place to carry a rather haunting quality. Remnants of a once stable civilization long since disappeared, leaving nothing behind but the crusty old relics littering the sand. She felt very exposed, the buildings having been torn down and the mile of sand stretching on without any signs of cover should they come under fire. Around her, Excadrill was breathing in the musty air after spending a good chunk of time exploring the buried ruins while Durant lay about five metres in front of them. He appeared to be sunbathing but something told Primarina that slurping and chewing noises did not constitute an effective tanning process. She still couldn't concentrate properly, a feeling of deep unease permeating her entire being.

'What's up?' Excadrill woke Primarina up from her thoughts.

'I just can't shake the feeling that we're being watched?' Primarina told him, a slight chill travelling down her back. 'You know what I mean?'

'Well we could be.' Excadrill said, glanced back at the Scizor homestead now a good distance away. 'You never know who you can trust here. I sure as hell don't trust Zayden for that matter.'

'You don't?'

'The night before we met you,' Excadrill explained. 'he came to us and pitched the same predicament except instead of acting all sorry for himself he decided to antagonize Scizor to no end.' he scratched his chin. 'I just find it weird that he wants to come back to all this when he never showed any interest in restoring closeness with his family before.'

'I don't know...' Primarina was skeptical. '..,Maybe he's just gone slightly coo coo? I mean I would have if had to spend my whole life in this shithole while my brother was off saving Charom.'

Excadrill whipped back round at Primarina, his once warm and friendly face now disgusted.

'It's not uncommon for that to happen to anyone regardless of who they are.' he seethed before raising his voice. 'Durant?'

The two of them turned to observe Durant emerge, covered in sand, from the ground with a slightly pained expression. His eyes were slowly blinking and his breath came out slowly.

'Explain to Primarina what you were doing there.' Excadrill said, addressing her puzzled look.

'Entrainment.' Durant said, spitting on the ground.

'Oh is that the thing where you eat dead bodies?' Primarina rolled her eyes. Excadrill stamped his foot hard on the ground before pointing all around them at the empty plains.

'It means that this place is full of them! Buried underground with no rhyme or reason cos there was no time for a proper funeral.' Excadrill told her furiously. 'Do you want to know how many of them were killed by a dragon or by their own hand?'

Excadrill waited for a response from a dumbfounded Primarina, who was staring at him with her mouth ajar. He knew he wasn't going to get one. The silence was interrupted by Durant spitting again, this time a piece of white bone firing out of his mouth.

'My entrainment absorbs nutrients that are attached to nature pieces that ain't decomposed. Plants, trees and other pokemon.' Durant nodded at the sharp piece of skeleton embedded in the sand. 'There's still fresh dead remnants down there. Those pokemon didn't die years ago. For all we know they were buried the other day.'

'This place is literally a graveyard then..?' Primarina said, now feeling incredibly guilty. She felt ashamed of how critical she had been of the Shan'rala Desert as a whole. Their inhabitants, their home, the way they lived. All of it. It was now as she stood metres above a pile of corpses did it truly hit home.

'I'm sorry...' Primarina began to sob, her head burying itself into Excadrill's shoulders and not even acknowledging how dirty he was. Excadrill stood with a glum expression before he patted her on the back, the two forming an unlikely embrace. Durant snorted and turned around, still picking bits out of his mouth with his tongue. Excadrill gently stroked the back of Primarina's head as her sobs became wails.

'I am so sorry! I am!' Primarina couldn't control the flood of tears streaming from her eyes, the purity of the liquid cleansing Excadrill's shoulder of all dirt. 'I was stupid! I knew pokemon had it hard all over the country but still! Nobody deserves this!'

'You're forgiven.' Excadrill whispered in her ear. 'It's just best to understand. Through understanding then we can make the world a better place.'

'Did you hear that?'

The two broke apart at the sound of Durant's voice. He had backed off slightly into Primarina and Excadrill which unnerved both of them. _If Durant is cautious then maybe we should be afraid at whatever could be here_ , thought Excadrill.

'It sounded like voices.' Durant hissed, his pincers making clicking sounds. 'Be on your guard.'

'Is it ghosts!? Oh no!' Primarina shook where she was before falling to the floor and continuing her bawling. 'Please! Forgive me spirits! I didn't mean to disrespect your forms in the living world!'

'Stop that!' Durant rounded on her, instilling silence immediately. 'It's not ghosts.'

'Then what is it then?' Primarina asked, hiccuping. Durant stepped forward, his hunter ears trying to pick out more telltale signs of company. Primarina and Excadrill craned their necks too. There was an extremely faint wind but apart from that there was nothing. Was this just Durant hearing things in that warped brain of his? After several agonizingly long seconds Durant slowly looked round at his companions, his expression morbid.

'Brace yourselves.' he muttered. 'I hope I'm mistaken but I think we might have a big storm coming.'


	12. Chapter Eleven: An Explosive Encounter

**Chapter Eleven: An Explosive Encounter**

Keldeo flopped down onto the sand, the dust spraying everywhere. His mood was foul. He wanted nothing better than to escape this hellscape and to just reunite with the Swords of Justice. The once blue sky had turned grey, matching his mood all too well. Keldeo proceeded to bury his head in the ground in the same way that Excadrill or Durant would, wishing he could just stay there forever. He didn't care how stupid he looked at the current moment. On the contrary, he thought it might be a good way of hiding from any of these stupid hunters that wanted his body. He shut his eyes tight and tried to close off his hearing. _Nothing is going to get me out of this hole_ , he thought, the smoothness of the sand tickling his cheeks. _Absolutely nothing, I'd have to be mad to let anything push me away from_ -

'Keldeo.'

Immediately at the sound of her voice, Keldeo's head ejected itself from the earth, his horn smothered in brown gunk. _Yep nice one Keldeo_ , he cursed at himself internally before turning round to greet Lopunny.

'Lady Lopunny...' he realized how disheveled he looked and brushed most of the dirt off. Lopunny watched him with a raised eyebrow.

'Why did you have your head in the ground?' she asked, causing Keldeo to flush violently.

'Look,' he said indignantly. 'I don't know about you but I've had a really shitty time recently.'

Lopunny's cheeks turned bright pink.

'Don't know about me?' she exclaimed. 'Would you like me to list off all the things I've been through?'

'That's not what I meant!' pleaded Keldeo, pawing the ground nervously.

'I understand how you're feeling,' Lopunny said, reverting back to her kind demeanor. 'but no good will come from literally burying your head in the sand. I mean seriously man it's a metaphor, you don't need to actually do it.' Once more her playful laugh sent Keldeo's stomach upwards.

'Yeah well...' Keldeo looked into the distance sadly after gathering himself up. '...I don't like feeling powerless. It's such a shit feeling you know?'

'I feel you.' Lopunny said, remembering those days of offering nothing. 'Here.' She held her hand out, the bottle of green medicine clutched in her fingers. 'I can finally patch your leg up.'

'That would be most welcome.' nodded Keldeo appreciatively. Lopunny knelt down on one knee, unscrewing the lid while Keldeo unsheathed his makeshift bandage with his mouth. Once more, he winced badly as the stinging liquid was applied by a gentle touch by Lopunny. Keldeo gritted his teeth until he became used to the pain.

'I should have known nothing would have come good from this.' said Lopunny idly, continuing her healing process. 'Between you and me, the reason I wanted to come here is to find out everything I can about Scizor.'

Keldeo clenched his jaw. _She's talking about Scizor_ , he thought. _Shocker._

'Find out everything you can?' he said skeptically, deciding to engage head on. 'Didn't you two date for a bit? How much more do you need to discover?'

'We got together in the most dangerous situations of our...well _my_ life.' said Lopunny, shrugging her shoulders. 'I don't blame him for being secretive really. He did well to bottle it up.'

'Could of done it out of courtesy.' Keldeo said, the red blotchy mark stitching itself up. 'Spare you worrying, you know?'

'I don't think Scizor thinks that far ahead honey.' smiled Lopunny, attempting to be frivolous. It didn't work.

'You know for someone who is infatuated with him you sure do fire some insults at the guy.' Keldeo said critically.

'Infatuated?' Lopunny lowered her arms and stared at Keldeo incredulously. 'Why would I be infatuated with a guy who constantly lies through his teeth and actually blew someone right in front of me?'

'Uhh...' Keldeo paused before attempting a grin. 'We all like a bad boy?'

'Very funny.' she scowled, resuming her medical work and examining the injury. Keldeo stood where he was, resenting his inability to be firmer to Lopunny. A bat of her eyelids and his subservience was all hers. He had almost zoned out of what Lopunny was saying now.

'I have a friend, Sceptile, who has a pretty nasty scar on his shoulder. You'd be lucky you don't end up like him with the amount of injuries you-'

'He's your project isn't he?' Keldeo interrupted uncharacteristically. Lopunny blinked.

'What are you talking about?'

'Scizor.' Keldeo clarified, his tone and demeanor very direct. 'You want to see what can be done with him. You didn't have enough time together when you were off saving this land and now you see it as a chance to bring things full circle. I understand.'

Lopunny caressed the container gently with the tip of her finger, analyzing what Keldeo just said. She didn't even notice the three shapes of Durant, Primarina and Excadrill in the far distance all standing back to back and looking very odd indeed.

'It's complicated.' Lopunny eventually said, her voice husky.

'How so?'

Lopunny took a deep breath, trying to think how she would formulate her sentences.

'Imagine if you had met someone right?' Lopunny started to explain. 'They were obviously...morally questionable, lets say. But the first thing they ever did for you was a good deed. All the way through your travels you question what their motives are and how they conduct themselves to others but you constantly exert your gratitude to them for doing that act of honor at the start.'

'Aha...' said Keldeo slowly, believing this sounded all too familiar.

'When you think you've brought them over to your side then all is revealed.' Lopunny carried on. 'That spark of goodness they performed was all an act to deceive you. At least at the start. What you achieved with them in the time between the first act to the revelation struck such a chord that they were willing to change their behavior for you.'

'So what you're saying is that you turned Scizor from a bad pokemon to a...' Keldeo thought for a second. '...Less bad pokemon?'

'Whatever you think it is something did change in him thanks to me.' said Lopunny. 'So in a way you're right. He is my project in a way. That doesn't mean I don't care about him though. I think I actually care about him more seeing as I've made more discoveries.' She shrugged her shoulders. 'I think this will help us in the long run. It's important to be happy.'

Keldeo sighed deeply.

'Controversial opinion here,' he stated loudly for her to listen to. 'but I don't believe consciousness evolved for us to be happy.'

Lopunny shook her head in confusion.

'What do you mean?'

'We're always going to have sad moments in our life, there's no avoiding that.' he explained. 'Those moments of despair and pain are what makes the good moments all the sweeter. Give yourself purpose and direction, that way you can channel your energy into converting the inevitable bad into the unforgettable good.'

Lopunny stood where she was, looking into Keldeo's eyes. She thought of the balance of good and bad times she shared with the Shining Beacons and how much they had struggled. Their fights against the darkest of forces, pushing them to their limits yet the end result boosting all of them to hero status. Accidental hero status maybe but still setting the stage for these broken and hard-done-by pokemon. She knew deep down that if Scizor did it once he can do it again. And she knew even more about her potential, how this journey could prove her accomplishments were not a fluke.

'When you're been reduced to your weakest state but you come out of it at your strongest. That's a hero.' Keldeo said softly. Lopunny nodded.

'I know that.' she managed a faint half-smile. 'I'll continue my progress. I'll relish the dark times cos there the biggest learning curves and there is nothing better than learning.'

She rested her hand on Keldeo's cheek. He immediately started a quick succession of breaths, doing his best to cease them. Lopunny was oblivious once again.

'You're a good friend you know?'

The words seemed to echo in slow motion through Keldeo's ears. As childish as it seemed and how valuable Lopunny was to him at the moment, he couldn't help but tweak several heartstrings at this statement.

'...Thank you.'

Eventually Keldeo and Lopunny broke out into smiles and embraced in a warm hug, failing to notice the distant three all making a beeline straight towards them, their sprints full of intent.

* * *

The candle continued to flicker, the small beam of light contributing very little to the absolute chaos that was Scizor's old family room. The three pokemon inside were all separated by considerable distances considering the small size. None of them had spoken in a good while. Papa-Scizor was still lying on his bed, frequently emitting gargling coughs and talking quietly to himself. Zayden was standing before a small table, whipping up a small meal for himself that looked like a mix of porridge and baked beans, his head facing downwards either due to concentration or despair. Scizor was sat in a chair, his arms folded over the back and his legs spread far apart, his expression that of deep contempt for his situation. They had come all this way for nothing apparently. Nothing apart from witnessing the state that his father had succumbed to and discovering that his former home was just the same as every other run down, dilapidated mess that dotted every few miles of Shan'rala. Scizor's grip was tightening on the cross rail of his chair, the wood splintering ever so slightly as he thought of the others. Of Lopunny seeing his roots and where he was from. He had no idea what she would be thinking of right now. Whether she had expressed more sympathy for his past plights or just validated her thoughts of him being a complete psychopath even more. Scizor clenched his jaw tight as the overwhelming positives of having Lopunny in his life flooded his brain and just how scared he was of losing her...

SNAP!

The head of his seat broke into multiple pieces, the unintentional strength Scizor was applying too much for it. Zayden whipped round, his claw soaked in paste to see his brother sitting awkwardly holding shards of wood in both claws. Scizor sat where he was and contemplated the situation before flinging the chunks to the side of the room simultaneously and standing to his feet.

'I'm going.' he said. Zayden started abruptly.

'You can't go!' he placed his bowl down on the table and checked the clock behind him.

'Why not?' Scizor asked him as his father rolled round on his bed, his stump of an arm waving randomly. 'I have nothing to gain here Zayden. I hate you, I hate that prick on the bed there, I hate everything to do with Fort Dolorem. I'm out.'

Scizor turned round to leave but was hauled round by an irate Zayden, his good eye flaring in fury.

'You're not getting out of this! You're going to suffer it for once!' he growled. Scizor threw his arm off his shoulder with aggression.

'I've suffered enough!' he retorted, gesturing over Zayden at the bed. 'I have done all my life! Having to put up with him, with the war and a fucking pokemon from another world trying to kill me!'

'And look at you now!' Zayden replied, his right arm holding Scizor's wrist in a vice-like grip. 'You're a hero! Everyone knows who you are, they look up to you when I know the truth of what you're really like. Don't forget, you're the one responsible for this.' His free hand pointed up at his ruined eye, Scizor's reflection shimmering in the pure white. 'Do you know how it feels to be stuck in the shit while my coward of a younger brother has every chance of living life to the full yet he insists on drinking and wasting his existence away?'

Scizor could have gone mental but instead decided to switch his voice to a mocking tone.

'Oh boo hoo.' he screwed up his face in fake anguish. 'The victim card doesn't work here. You had every opportunity to leave and sever all ties with this place. Make your own destiny. But no...You sit about and feel sorry for yourself. Pretty pathetic in my estimate.'

'I...' Despite Zayden's tight grip, his facial expressions were showing signs of weakness. '...I have a duty of care.'

'No you don't.' Scizor softened his voice as well. 'He's going to die soon. The sooner you let go, the happier you'll be.'

'I'm never happy.' Zayden said, his voice cracking slightly. 'My life means nothing now. I thought being a war veteran would give me something but now I realize that I'm not special. I'm just another speck of sand in this seemingly infinite desert.'

Despite Zayden's emotional quivering, his grip remained water tight on Scizor's wrist who was now becoming concerned about his blood flow. However, they were stopped in their raving tracks by a shout from over the older brothers shoulder.

'Blaze!'

The two scizor's looked round to see the third and oldest one sitting up on his bed, his eyes half-gummed together and multiple liquids trickling from his mouth. He was staring at Scizor with a curious expression that neither of them could interpret. It was as if he was still enraged at the sight of him but at the same time, trying to decipher what it was that made him so angry.

'What is it?' Scizor said dully. Papa-Scizor tilted his head before beckoning forward with his good claw. Scizor reluctantly did so, Zayden finally releasing his wrist and picking up his food dish.

'Closer.' Papa-Scizor said.

'I'm fine here.' Blaze-Scizor said in response, sitting at the edge of the bed, the stench of his fathers feet wafting into senses. 'What is it?'

Papa-Scizor's eyes met Blaze-Scizor's and they shared an unblinking silence, neither of them wanting to give the other the satisfaction of winning the staring contest.

'...Remember your mother?' Papa-Scizor eventually said. Scizor's breath quavered a little.

'Yeah? And?'

Papa-Scizor leaned back on his bed, his musty breath filling up the room. He looked down at his chopped arm in a rather pathetic motion.

'As far as I know...She was the last female Scizor in the desert...Meaning she might have been the last one in Charom.' Papa-Scizor shook his head in deep sadness. 'I have no idea.'

Scizor said nothing, his claws clutching his knee. He knew where this conversation was going to go from here.

'So seeing you with that fucking buneary...' Papa-Scizor seethed, spitting everywhere. 'All it does is further our genocide.'

'I told you I can't make a child with her!' Scizor shouted, punching the bed with his claw.

'Then you have a choice to make.' Papa-Scizor growled, sitting up again. 'Continue a degenerate lifestyle of mingling or find a scyther or scizor woman to continue our species' existence...Even if it means leaving Charom.'

Scizor furrowed his brows in a look of deepest contempt.

'You're being hysterical.' he muttered, his voice low. 'We're not going to die out. This land is huge, you've barely scratched the surface. There's bound to be more of them.'

'I just...' Papa-Scizor coughed before continuing. '...Always thought I would value you more than Zayden to bear me grandchildren.'

Scizor looked round at his brother who had frozen midway through eating his food, his mouth gaping slightly and a spoon clutched in his pincer. Scizor shot him an apologetic look before turning back round.

'Thanks but I wouldn't have them purely for your happiness.' Scizor said.

'Look,' Papa-Scizor leaned forward with intent. 'I am...proud of you, Blaze.'

Scizor refrained from standing up at this piece of information. He rested his claws on his knees and stared at his dads face, refraining from eye contact. Was this a deception? What would there be to gain from this? Scizor decided to take his time with this.

'What are you talking about?'

'Zayden told me of what you've done.' Papa-Scizor said, his voice adopting the softest tone possible. 'You're a hero.'

Scizor shot another look at Zayden, who was refusing to look anywhere but the contents of his bowl.

'I'm not a hero.' Scizor shook his head.

'You tell yourself that.' Papa-Scizor managed a slight chuckle. 'I'll be the first to admit that what I did to you was unacceptable.'

'You don't say?' Scizor said flatly, his right claw moving down to grip the mattress hard.

'It's how you made a man out of yourself after that.' Papa explained. 'You made mistakes along the way sure. In all honesty it would be better for everyone if you had killed me the day you left home. I've been wasting away here for years now and I just don't know when the day will come when I finally fall. Could be tomorrow or could be in another few years time.'

'Where are you going with this?' Scizor's voice remained unsympathetic.

'I'm saying that it's every parents dream to see their child become better than they ever were.' Papa-Scizor clarified, edging closer to him. 'You've achieved that. And I know you'll reply saying it's not saying much but you managed to bounce back from being subject to the worlds shittiest dad and become as good a scizor as you can be.' Papa-Scizor's faint smile widened. 'Your mother would be over the moon if she could see you now.'

'Stop bringing her into this!' Scizor screamed, standing up and swiping to his side, knocking the table contents everywhere and causing his relatives to flinch. 'Don't you get it!? She's dead! She's dead and buried somewhere in this fucking desert, she's just bones now.'

'Oh I get it alright. I've lived with that for years. Papa-Scizor muttered, flicking at his sheets. 'She died in my arms, with me feeling powerless to save her. You know how it feels to know there was nothing you could do to save the one you loved?'

Scizor hunched his shoulders, remembering telling Durant how insignificant he felt up against Giratina.

'...Good thing I'm not going to be powerless.' Scizor said, taking steps towards his dad. Behind him, Zayden kept peering over at the clock on the wall.

'And how will you manage that?' asked Papa.

'I know what to do now.' Scizor told him, now a foot away from each other. 'I have a purpose. It's what we all need in life, to use the skills I have to forge my own destiny. I was told that the other day and it was the best piece of advice anyone's given to me.'

'I'm glad.' Papa-Scizor nodded. 'I owe you this explanation though...' He sat up once again as Scizor sat down on the edge, his back facing the wall but his head turned and listening. 'Blaze... You have her eyes.'

The quiet between the three was testament to the sensitive subject that was Mama-Scizor. Scizor felt another choking feeling in his windpipe although he knew it wasn't the anxiety, this was sheer emotion.

'The same eyes.' Papa-Scizor said in a hoarse croak. 'The guilt I felt when I knew she couldn't be saved...The image of her staring up at me right before she died has been imprinted in my memory ever since. I see her every time I wake up. Every time I fall asleep. Every time I dream. And every time I see you.'

Scizor clenched his teeth hard, willing himself not to tear up.

'Then why did you...' he shook his head, unable to prevent the cracks in his voice. 'Why did you do this to me? To both of us!?'

'I didn't know what to do...' Papa-Scizor groaned while Zayden taking a huge mouthful of his food. 'It could have been me trying to toughen you up. It could have been me trying to destroy the painful past. Maybe it was me losing all my trust in Charom that I would turn on my own sons... It made me a monster.' It was then that a single tear slowly clambered it's way from Papa's eye. 'And to see you rise from all the pain and terror that I forced on you... It's nothing short of miraculous.'

Scizor couldn't help himself this time, and a solitary tear of his own fell down his cheek. The emotion seemed genuine. Despite his mistrust of his father he felt coursing through his veins, he could see the husk of a pokemon he was now. He really didn't have long to go. This truly was the revelations and final affairs of a dying man.

'I don't know what to say...' Scizor looked back round at Zayden, who had his arms folded. 'Is this true?'

'I think so.' Zayden muttered, his face cloudy. 'He always talked about you. Always brought it up with me. When was the last time you saw Blaze? What has be been doing? I need to see him!' he performed a decent impression of Papa-Scizor's rusty voice. 'So yeah. This is why I needed you to come back. Think he was just so taken aback by the appearance of Lopunny that he couldn't say anything.'

Scizor lowered his head, more glistening tears forming in the corners of his eyes. He wiped them away and looked up, his arm instinctively reaching out and grabbing his father by the good arm.

'...Dad.' Scizor managed a forced croak out. Papa-Scizor managed a chuckle. To an outsider, he looked more like a weary yet kind old grandfather as a pose to a mentally scarred war veteran.

'If you still hate me I totally understand.' Papa-Scizor said, not objecting to his boy holding on. 'I just want you to continue your journey knowing that I am happy you never turned out like me. You shouldn't waste time here anyway. You have a fulfilling life ahead of you.' Papa-Scizor nodded at the door. 'Leave this place. Create the path you want and follow it immediately. I encourage it.'

Both of them performed an understanding nod and Scizor lifted his arm away. What needed to be done was done and now he could move on. He didn't really know what emotion he felt at the present moment but he knew that the constricting nervous feeling that had plagued his well-being for a few days now was quietly evaporating. There was a feeling of satisfaction floating around in Scizor's emotionally resonant mind as he stood up, the sight of his sickly father no longer producing the same sense of loathing. As he turned, he felt Zayden come up to him immediately, his intact eye rather wild looking.

'Like he said,' Scizor half smiled. 'let's get out of here.'

'Not yet.'

Scizor kept noticing Zayden's constant looks at their clock and instantly grew wary.

'What are you doing?' Scizor asked but Zayden ignored him, this time switching his attention to Papa, his turn to seethe with rage.

'This is what I've put up with all these months.' Zayden growled, shaking with anger. 'No apologies. No explanations. No credit. Nothing! I'm the one who's had to take the backseat here!'

'Look I'm sorry...' Scizor groaned, patting Zayden on the back. 'Why don't you come with us? We could use you on this mission-'

'Yeah, use!' Zayden snapped, swiping Scizor's arm away. 'That's all I'm good for isn't it? Being used. Well don't worry...I've embraced it now. I have my own destiny planned.'

'Well that's good.' Scizor said. 'I've been saying you need to control your own fate.'

'I have to do this.' Zayden said, his good eye falling upon the clock once more and lighting up ever so slightly. 'Like you said, kill the past. Lucky for you...I have everything I need now to do it.'

'What?' Scizor attempted to back off in suspicion of Zayden's creepy words but quicker than a ninjask, Zayden struck upwards with a powerful claw. The blow clattered Scizor on the chin and he toppled backwards, banging his head against the corner of the table.

'Zayden!' Papa-Scizor sat bold upright, totally shocked at what just happened. 'What are you doing!?'

'Something I should have done a long time ago.' Zayden reached behind his back while Scizor's vision was flooded by stars and seized his finished food bowl. In one motion he flung it at Papa's head, the dish shattering and the old scizor falling back yelling in pain. As Scizor recovered his sight, Zayden backed off to the tapestry covering the door and smacked a part of the wall with a no-look backhand slap. The wall piece crumbled and a small device dropped into Zayden's outstretched claw. Despite his senses taking a beating, Scizor recognized what it was that Zayden was clutching, having come into conflict with it only the day before. His heart began to drum faster than ever before.

'I'm not the only one in Shan'rala who feels this way.' Zayden said, holding the trigger high. 'This is just the start of something special. It's time for me to let go.'

Scizor held his breath as Zayden brought the tip of his claw down upon his trigger, Papa-Scizor yelling out and attempting to stand to his feet. Suddenly, Scizor experienced something sharp and tight seize him by both arms. He felt himself being pulled sharply downwards by two pokemon, his body tearing through the granite ground as above him, Zayden had pushed the button and dived through the doorway holding his head. Underneath Papa's bed, a fiery explosion ignited and engulfed the room, consuming everything inside it. Where Scizor was dragged to underground, he could only watch with burning eyes as fire and smoke erupted through the hole he was peering out of. The whole scizor homestead was torn apart by the violent bang, bottles shattering, walls collapsing and a faint scream of anguish and agony. Scizor shut his eyes tight as beside him, Durant and Excadrill were gritting their teeth, the cacophony of noise too much for them both. No amount of sound or violence was enough to drown out the barrage of thoughts running through Scizor's head however with one arching question linking them all together... _What the fuck just happened_?

Finally the dust settled and the three underground all took their hands away from their heads, over half of their senses having taken a pounding. Scizor clambered his way out of the hole, coughing in the dense smoke and taking a look around, his eyes searing from the heat. The entire homestead had been ripped apart, chunks of brick lying scattered in the sand. As Excadrill and Durant slowly followed, Scizor caught a glimpse of charred mattress and smoldered steel bars once belonging to a bed. He put his hands to his head and began to breath hard, failing to notice any sign of his dad apart from the chunks of red spread far and wide...

'Sci...Scizor.' Excadrill spluttered, his face even filthier than usual. 'We need to get out. We're in serious-'

But Scizor ignored him as his eyes fell to his left and upon a slowly rising figure drenched in sand. It was Zayden, his armor burnt darker by the inferno. He groaned and cracked his neck, stumbling slightly as he straightened.

'Scizor!'

A voice came from behind the three but only Durant and Excadrill twisted to see Lopunny, Keldeo and Primarina slowly approaching them, all with the same worried expression. Lopunny had wrapped her cloak back around her neck due to the steady recovery of Keldeo's leg injury.

'I told you to get out of here!' Durant barked loudly at them.

'But the explosion!' Lopunny pleaded, wiping her forehead. 'Are you okay? What happened?'

It was then that Scizor began his furious march towards Zayden who had finally managed to regain his balance and just noticed the livid insect coming fast at him.

'Motherfucker...' Zayden wiped blood from his mouth and braced himself. Scizor sped up at the last second and landed a monumental punch to Zayden's face, knocking him against an upturned piece of wall balanced against a sand dune. Zayden grunted as he smacked against it and buckled ninety degrees when Scizor smashed him in the stomach with his devastating knee, winding him. Scizor used both arms to pin Zayden against the wall, their faces inches apart, their combined three eyes searing.

'Why...Why did you do that!?' Scizor roared, drowning Zayden's face in saliva. 'You killed him! What the fuck have you done!? Was that a bomb made by Hoodwink? Answer me!'

Zayden's lip curled in a sneer.

'That's just the start...' he muttered. 'I'm free from him now. Was easier than I thought it would be. As for the question of Hoodwink? Yeah you're right. He has our best interests at hearts.'

'What do you mean by 'our' best interests?' Scizor interrogated him further, the others behind him completely stationary.

'Shan'rala and it's pokemon.' Zayden said, wheezing to get his lungs back. 'He's going to bring us back to our glory days. As I rise, you're gonna fall.'

Scizor clenched his teeth again and raised his left hand high before bringing it hurtling back downwards, intending to land the most powerful bullet punch possible.

CLANG!

The punch was stopped dead in it's tracks by a red metal arm. Scizor was stunned for a second, perplexed to where Zayden brought this strength from, only to realize that something much worse had blocked the attack. He slowly turned his head to the left and saw who exactly it was that was holding his arm in place like it was nothing. His very being almost collapsed at the sight of him.

'Pleasure to see you again, Scizor.' Bisharp said slowly, his arm outstretched in between the two brothers. In another quick move, Bisharp struck upwards, making hard contact with Scizor's face and sending him falling to the floor. Lopunny stepped forward at seeing this but during Scizor's drop, Bisharp made himself visible to her and she screamed.

'Bisharp!' she quivered in terror. Keldeo's jaw dropped at the sounds of the name, knowing full well by the fear in Lopunny's voice just who this pokemon was. Bisharp turned to Zayden who was managing to breath at a normal rate now.

'Apologies for the delay.'

'No worries.' Zayden grunted, looking up at the party ahead. 'It worked out fine. The assets over there! His name is Keldeo!' he pointed at said pokemon. Bisharp followed his hand, micro-assessing the terrain and conditions around him at a razor speed.

'RUN!' Scizor shouted on the ground, gesturing madly at his companions. Primarina didn't hesitate, screaming at the top of her lungs and beginning to dash, stumbling over in the sand. However, the other four stayed where they were.

'We're not leaving you behind!' Lopunny yelled out, clenching her fists while Excadrill nervously sharpened his claws. 'We can take them!'

'Lopunny go!' Scizor shrieked, completely panic-stricken. 'I told you to never engage him!'

'You did did you?' Bisharp smirked above him as Primarina stopped where she was, looking to where her friends remained. ''Afraid of what I'm capable of to the likes of you?'

'You wish!' Scizor burst up suddenly, aiming a swiping kick. Bisharp deflected it but Scizor countered back, both arms striking against Bisharp. He shrugged it off like nothing and chopped Scizor's arm, causing a bludgeoning pain on his bicep. As those two engaged, Zayden tapped the back of his neck several times.

'Cut escape routes off now!'

'We're coming to help!' Keldeo tried to step forward but suddenly, the sound of engines echoed around the enormous sand plain. Almost immediately, a troop of dune buggies zoomed their way into sight, circling Lopunny and her friends ominously. One of them forced Primarina back into the circle with an aggressive rev of the exhaust. Lopunny, Primarina, Durant, Excadrill and Keldeo all backed off into each other while ahead of them, Bisharp gained the upper hand. He rolled underneath the physically compromised Scizor and stabbed back with his foot, Scizor collapsing in the contact.

'No point trying to move.' Zayden called out as Bisharp flung Scizor against the side of one of the buggies, the driving Krookodile expressing his annoyance at doing so. 'You're surrounded.'

Zayden approached the circle as one by one, the occupants of the vehicles all dismounted. Krookodile, Scolipede, Chesnaught, Beeheeyem and...

'Oh Arceus no...' Lopunny shrank back into Excadrill, the sight of which causing Nidoqueen to cackle loudly.

'Lopunny! Sweet child, it's been too long!' she crooned wickedly, stepping forward, her crew members all surrounding them. 'You're looking in better shape than last time we came face to face. All the more reason to just tear that face off...'

Her eyes were wild, basically psychotic. Lopunny's hair stood up and her heart could potentially burst out of her rib cage with how violently it was beating.

'We're not going down without a fight.' Lopunny said, trying to settle her voice.

'We ain't going down at all!' Durant snarled, snapping viciously at the approaching Scolipede.

'I don't know, he's done a pretty good job at it so far.' Nidoqueen pointed over at Scizor, whose limp frame was being held by the scruff of the neck by Bisharp on his right while Zayden stood to his left. Lopunny shuddered at this sight.

'Zayden, what are you doing?' Lopunny demanded an answer.

'You've walked right into my trap.' Zayden told her, his eye scanning where they were standing and an awful smirk attaching to his face. 'The timing was almost impeccable. I just killed two pidgeys with one very clever, very calculated stone. Eliminated the bane of my life, my dad, and cornered Keldeo. Good work everyone.'

'You fucking traitor...' Excadrill growled.

'This is Shan'rala, Excadrill.' Zayden laughed loudly. 'The fact that you didn't anticipate this just shows how naive you are. You should really know better.'

'Why are you working with them!?' Lopunny gestured at Bisharp and Nidoqueen. 'You know who they are!? They were part of the Clan of Shadows! They tried to destroy Charom!'

'We're survivors.' Nidoqueen growled, resting her hand on her chest. 'All of us. We're in this together and we will see our mission to tear down Charom's order whatever it costs. What else have we got to live for?'

'You haven't changed one bit.' Lopunny said, her voice seething with contempt for Nidoqueen. 'Always ready to strip others of their achievements instead of forging your own. I'd like to say that I expected better but to even think of giving you that much credit revolts me.'

While Lopunny was still paralyzed by fear, the satisfaction she obtained when seeing Nidoqueen physically squirm in disgust at her was enough to fuel her motivation to keep fighting.

'How did you track us?' Keldeo asked loudly. Zayden snorted.

'How did _I_ track you?' he sneered. 'Pretty simple. I wanted Scizor to bring you to this spot days ago and when he didn't do what I wanted, I took matters into my own hand. One of Hoodwink's scraggy squads managed to hurt you and expose your trail so I recruited these fine warriors and told them to come here at a specific time. I was confident in my ability to lure you guys back. You genuinely think I was caring for that old shit day and night?' He jerked his head back, referring to the pieces of his father. 'Wrong. He was just part of my personal scheme in this elaborate plan. As is Blaze.'

'We can do this the easy way or the hard way.' Bisharp announced, still grasping Scizor tightly while he was slumping on his knees.

'Please do it the hard way.' Nidoqueen hissed, her eyes always fixed on Lopunny hungrily.

'Either you hand over Keldeo to us and we'll let you walk away.' Bisharp explained, Scizor beginning to open his eyes fully. 'Or we'll detonate where you're standing with the mine right under you.'

Primarina whimpered, her eyes shut tight and praying to herself quietly. Durant remained stony faced as he kept a staring contest up with Chesnaught who was finding it difficult to keep looking.

'You're bluffing.' Keldeo said, his blue light shimmering.

'Are we?' Zayden snapped at him before turning. 'Krookodile, give me that.'

Everyone watched as Krookodile handed Zayden another trigger. He turned to face them, his claw once again hovering above the red button.

'Do you want to really find out?' said Zayden. Excadrill slowly swished his foot in around the sand and his face turned red when it bumped into something metal embedded in the dirt.

'Guys they ain't lying.'

'You look familiar..' Nidoqueen raised her eyebrow at Excadrill, who perked up slightly.

'Oh now you should definitely remember me!' Excadrill said heartily, relishing the time when he defeated her in combat. Nidoqueen scrutinized him for a few more seconds.

'...No it must be someone else.' she dismissed the visibly annoyed Excadrill and continued her lengthy stare of Lopunny.

'You have ten seconds.' Zayden warned them, still holding the trigger. 'Ten. Nine. Eight...'

Primarina squealed out in terror, several bubbles emitting from her mouth in a form of resistance but they sadly floated upwards and burst. Durant and Excadrill lowered their bodies, willing to risk a burrow underground but not knowing if it would work in time. As Zayden's mouth shaped to say the word 'four' however, Scizor acted. He jabbed backwards and struck Bisharp in his damaged chest with his elbow, his grip relinquishing from his neck. He then struck out and pierced Zayden in the calf in a solid bullet punch which caused him to grunt loudly and drop the trigger. Scizor then lunged forward, his elbow directed downwards and dropped on to the device, breaking it into tiny pieces.

'Yes Scizor!' Lopunny cried out while Keldeo and Excadrill let out similar exclamations. Scizor looked up, his arms stretched out and his face covered in sand.

'Now quickly!' he shouted. 'You need to-'

Scizor's instructions were cut short by a furious Bisharp, who seized him by the head and tossed him violently to the side, his body crashing into a buggy wheel. Scizor barely had time to recover from this heavy blow before Bisharp was at him again, kicking him squarely in the jaw before squatting down to eye level with Scizor.

'You will watch!' Bisharp snarled, his aggression freezing even Durant to where he was. He raised his arm, blade extending and looked down at the rapidly blinking Scizor.

'NO!' Lopunny wailed but Bisharp plunged the blade deep into Scizor's chest, the steel piercing through his armor. Blood spurted all over the blade as Scizor cried out in agony, Bisharp slowly twisting his weapon, Nidoqueen cackling and Zayden dusting himself off.

'You come any further,' Zayden held out his arm to stop Lopunny from running up. 'and he dies.'

'Zayden how could you allow this!?' Lopunny screamed, her eyes filling with tears. 'Your own brother! You'll let him die right before you!'

'I think he's past that stage.' Durant muttered, visibly agitated. 'He just tried to kill his remaining family members in one move.'

'Yeah I'm really thinking you're not right in the head.' Primarina said, appearing to regain some bravery but still avoiding eye contact with the creepy Beeheeyem and Scolipede.

'If I move my arm forward by an inch,' Bisharp said, blood continuing to pour down Scizor's chest, his claws weakly trying to pull Bisharp off him but to no avail. 'then this blade stabs his heart.'

'Just kill him...' Nidoqueen was muttering sadistically, her words turning Lopunny's stomach. 'You know you want to, Bisharp. Do it!'

'Stop!' Keldeo said loudly, everyone turning to him. He took a deep breath and addressed Bisharp. 'Let him go and I'll...I'll come with you.'

There was silence apart from the gasps of Primarina and Excadrill and the laughing and whooping of the mercenaries.

'Told you they'd buckle!' Krookodile clapped his hands together as Scolipede chuckled. 'Not so tough now without the magical appearing car are ya?'

'You will?' Zayden asked Keldeo. He nodded.

'Just let him go. I'll do whatever you ask.' Keldeo told him. Scizor rigidly shook his head, his face turning white.

'Don't do it kid.' he breathed out, his arms still attached defiantly to Bisharp's arms. 'You don't want to give these guys your power...'

'Sir Scizor, with all due respect you're bleeding out.' Keldeo said calmly, walking towards Zayden slowly. 'If I don't do this quickly then you'll die. I don't have a choice here.'

'Yes you do!' Lopunny reached out for him. 'We can fight them!'

'No we can't!' Keldeo said to her firmly.

'He's right!' Primarina squeaked. 'We're outnumbered and surrounded!'

'So you'll come with us Keldeo?' Zayden asked, offering his hand out. Lopunny looked round at Primarina in disgust.

'Only if you let my friends live.' Keldeo said, gesturing at Scizor who was slowly losing consciousness. 'Don't harm these one and let Sir Scizor go, then I'll do what you want. Do we have a deal?'

Both Zayden and Nidoqueen looked down at the impaled Scizor, his body beginning to quiver and his claws slacking. The two of them desperately wanted Bisharp to just thrust forward and pierce Scizor where it mattered, killing him at last. The order was on the tip of Zayden's tongue...But it was too late. Bisharp slowly unsheathed his blood soaked sword from Scizor's limp body and stood up straight, nodding at Keldeo.

'We have a deal.' he said, wiping his blade clean. Nidoqueen clenched her fists tightly in frustration. _You weak fool_ , she thought, glaring back and forth at Bisharp and Lopunny.

'Stay... where you are.' Beeheeyem warned Lopunny and her team in his haunting voice as Krookodile and Chesnaught walked round to where Keldeo was, lifted him up by the legs and dumped him on the back of one of the buggies. Bisharp jumped up beside him and held his blade to Keldeo's throat.

'No funny business.' he glared at the four survivors as Nidoqueen and Zayden hopped into the front two seats. Chesnaught, Beeheeyem, Scolipede and Krookodile all backed off into their own vehicles and turned on the engines, several of them keeping their eyes on their opponents. Lopunny was visibly shaking. She kept looking between Scizor, who had slid off the turning wheel of the buggy and was lying slumped on the ground, and Keldeo who's despairing eyes were fixed on her despite his proximity to Bisharp's weapon.

'We'll find you Keldeo!' Lopunny cried out, the buggies beginning to chug forward. 'All for one!'

'...One for all.' Keldeo hoarsely said, a tear dripping from his eye. Zayden shot one last look at his wounded brother, wishing there was a huge rock nearby he could drop on his head. He tutted loudly and turned the key on the ignition.

'See you around, Blaze.'

Zayden stepped down on the pedal and accelerated forward. Lopunny, Excadrill, Durant and Primarina could only watch with despairing eyes as the three vehicles picked up speed and shot off up the slope with ease, quickly disappearing out of sight, Keldeo's blue trail wafting sadly into the ether. Lopunny hiccuped and pulled her ears over her head while Primarina resumed her bubbling tears.

'Fuck!' Excadrill scuttled forward, his claws preparing to dig. 'Let me go after them!'

'And what? You'll kill all seven of them and save Keldeo?' Durant snapped at him. 'Besides, you'll never catch up with them. They're gone.'

Lopunny wiped her eyes and turned to the other issue at hand.

'Scizor!' she sprinted over to where he lay, the sand around him more scarlet than his drained body. She skidded to the ground and felt around her neck, only for her to touch her body rapidly in panic.

'My medicine!' she wailed, shaking profusely. 'Where is it!? WHERE!? Help me!'

'It's here.' Excadrill scooped his claw under the sand nearby and picked up the small green bottle. 'I hid it before I went in to the house. Good thing too.'

Lopunny took it hastily as Durant rolled Scizor into a recovery position. Lopunny couldn't stop trembling. She tried her best to apply the liquid to her hand but it kept spilling due to her constant shaking. On the third attempt, she dropped the bottle to the sand, her hands soaking. Lopunny couldn't help but burst into uncontrollable tears.

'There there.' It was Primarina. She gently picked up the bottle, more than half of it's contents still inside and handed it back to Lopunny, her fins there to act as support for her grip. Nodding in her angst filled appreciation, Lopunny gently rubbed her hands on the gaping hole in Scizor's chest as Excadrill flopped down on his behind. his mind an absolute wreck.

'What now?' he said in a defeated voice. Nobody answered. Durant watched Lopunny and Primarina tend to Scizor before looking back up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set, the sky was now burnt orange. The devastation around them had cemented Fort Dolorem as a remnant of the war with nothing inhabiting it, no signs of intact buildings. Just another relic of times gone by. Suddenly, Scizor let out a gasp of air, causing everyone to jump backwards before sighing in relief. Scizor turned his head to look around where Zayden, Bisharp and Nidoqueen were only for nobody to be seen. That could only mean one thing...

'Did we...lose?' he asked. Lopunny and Primarina looked at each other, their arms still resting on Scizor's body as the medicine slowly worked it's magic, neither wanting to admit what they knew. Excadrill was too crushed to talk so he fell backwards and lay on the ground. Durant sighed deeply and stared hard at his former apprentice.

'Yeah. We lost.'


	13. Chapter Twelve: Duty Of Care

**Chapter Twelve: Duty Of Care**

It was difficult to know which was darker at the current moment. The night sky that drenched Shan'rala's miles of sand or Scizor's bleak and bruised soul. What had happened in the last few hours was mind blowing. He didn't know what to feel. Rage. Pain. Despair. But at the same time there was a resurgence deep within at the fact that Lopunny and the others had saved him, maybe even forgiven him for his past misdemeanors. It could just be down to the sensitive situation they were in that nobody was daring to speak up, and not just about his family. They didn't have a plan. Keldeo was gone. There situation looked so hopeless. Scizor sat staring at the fire they had lit before the wreckage of his house, his eyes burning and not due to the sparks that flew. Lopunny's cloak had worked it's wonders as a makeshift bandage again and was tied around his chest where Bisharp had stabbed him. The pain at the time was unbearable, probably the worst sensation that Scizor had ever experienced. He raised a berry to his mouth and began to bite down but it was like chewing wood at the moment. He heard a rustling to his right, causing him to turn and see Lopunny approaching him. There was a tense moment, Lopunny not knowing how she would conduct herself with Scizor but just feeling a desire to be with him right now. Scizor paused before shuffling to the side, signaling Lopunny to sit next to him. She did so.

'Excadrill's went to look for other camps and find out information on whether they saw Keldeo passing by.' Lopunny said, brushing sand off her legs. 'Primarina and Durant are salvaging items from the wreckage, hopefully to find a communicator.' She forced out a semi-smile. 'Durant's there to make sure she doesn't run off.'

Scizor said nothing. Lopunny watched the fire dance in the whites of his eyes, wondering just what was going through his head. Her fingers slowly wrapped themselves around Scizor's arm in a comforting gesture.

'How are you feeling?'

Scizor sighed deeply.

'Bisharp might as well have impaled my heart.' he said, Lopunny caressing him gently. 'Cos that's what it feels like right now.'

Lopunny brought herself close as possible to him, both arms coiling round his and resting her head on his broad shoulder.

'I can't imagine how you're feeling right now.' Lopunny said quietly. 'This is devastating.'

'...Wrong word.' Scizor said after a pause of thought. 'I mean at least my dad told me everything I needed to know before all that happened. I'm not sad he's gone but neither am I happy. It's just...It is what it is.' Scizor waved his hands around in random gesture, unable to articulate but Lopunny understood.

'It's confusing. I get it.' Lopunny said, the two continuing to watch the fire burn away. 'At least he's in all in the past now. You reconciled just in time I guess.'

Scizor's mouth twitched. Lopunny almost slid off his shoulder as he stood to his feet and paced before the flame lit wreckage. Lopunny watched Scizor place his hands behind his head and heard him let out a shuddering sigh. _Not good_ , she thought.

'What's the matter?' she asked. Scizor lowered his hands, still with his back to her.

'It seems I haven't been truthful with you.' Scizor announced. Lopunny strongly resisted the urge to say 'imagine my shock'.

'How so?' she asked, genuinely curious and prepared to give Scizor her full attention.

'Lopunny...' Scizor turned his head, the side of his handsome face visible now to her. '...I want you to leave the desert.' Scizor said sadly. 'Leave finding Keldeo to me. You have to go.'

'Uhh no?' Lopunny said skeptically, standing up and stepping forward. 'Scizor, we've been through this. We're going to help each other remember? I understand that I'm a little out of my depth here but everyone is willing to help and protect each other no matter what!'

'I'm terrified of you dying.' Scizor said, now twisting to face her. 'Cos if you do it's on me. And my dad is what I'll become if I have to go through that.' Scizor gestured at his destroyed home. 'After mum was killed, it's how he took out his frustrations out. His life was nothing without her and the only thing he knew how to channel was his pain and his anger.' He continued shakily waving his arm in the wreckage's general direction. 'And since I don't have anyone who will be around me to take my anger out I'll be in an even worse state that dad ever was. You know the reason why I killed that scraggy without a seconds thought? Cos in the desert, if you give an opponent one second of letting your guard down then it's game over. I learned that when Zayden lost the sight in his eye.'

Lopunny stood listening to what Scizor was saying, biting her lip and shaking her head back and forth rather vigorously.

'You don't have to end up like him! You're not him!' Lopunny pleaded, her hands together as if she was praying. 'I don't care that you're protective of me, if anything I'm more protective of you! We all should be!'

'Wherever Keldeo is then Bisharp and Nidoqueen are there too.' Scizor said, closing his claws tight. 'The end result of this mission can and will put you in the most danger you've ever been in. As of today, I've lost everything but you. And I can't let you put yourself in these positions Lopunny. For mine and your sake.'

Scizor put his arms on his hips and began to slowly walk to his right, Lopunny believing he was going to start climbing the nearby sand hill.

'Blaze.' she said softly. Scizor froze where he was and closed his eyes. There was another silence that seemed to stretch on for an eternity.

'Don't call me that.' Scizor said but Lopunny reached after him with an outstretched arm.

'Were you ever going to plan on telling me that?' she asked, touching him on the side. 'That your name is Blaze? Cos I like the name.'

'...I don't know. Maybe.'

Scizor shrugged her off and began his walk again. Lopunny stood where she was, trying not to weep on the spot before pulling her trump card.

'Cerys.'

'What?' Scizor said, pausing once again. Lopunny puffed in her chest and repeated herself.

'Cerys.' she said, the red bug turning to face her. 'That's my name. My true name.'

'Cerys...' Scizor pursed his lips, his head making little nodding motions. '...It's a great name. I like it.'

Lopunny wiped her eyes and whistled through her nose. They were more distant from the fire now and the cold air was rather conspicuous but it definitely wasn't that which was throwing a chill down both of their spines. She carried on her pleading stare, her eyes never leaving Scizor for one second as all the while he teetered back and forth, clearly conflicted about where to go.

'Tell the others I'm off to get Keldeo.' he eventually said.

'No Blaze!' Lopunny demanded, the sound of his name setting off a tic in Scizor's eye. 'You'll die! We're in this together!'

'What other choice do I have!?' Scizor shouted at her, the sound echoing through the cold desert. 'If you go with me then you'll be killed and I am not prepared to face that future!'

'Then we'll take our time!' Lopunny said quickly, although his words struck a powerful chord within her. 'We can set off tomorrow, gather intel and resources! We don't need to take on Bisharp and Nidoqueen head on, we just need to get Keldeo!'

'And then what!?' Scizor responded, gesticulating. 'Go get help from the cities? They don't care about Shan'rala. What we do is out of their control as long as we don't interfere with whatever important shit they do.'

'But Gallade!' Lopunny said quickly. 'He can bring his forces to the desert and together we can take down Zayden, Nidoqueen and Bisharp! And the rest!'

'If he's going to arrest them, he has to arrest all of us.' Scizor told her, folding his arms. 'What those pokemon have done has been replicated by countless pokemon across the desert. Killing, plundering, kidnapping, you name it. If we allow the city dwellers to instill their sense of law and justice to Shan'rala then they have no endgame. The prisons will overflow.'

Lopunny sighed deeply.

'Regardless my first point still stands.' she said. 'We can acquire what we need tomorrow. Bisharp and Nidoqueen wanted him alive so they must be using him for something.'

'What could it be?'

Scizor and Lopunny jumped and turned sharply with their fists raised.

'Ah it's only me!' Primarina squeaked, holding her fins above her head. Scizor and Lopunny both lowered their arms and shook their heads.

'If you don't like being surprised then don't do it to others.' Lopunny said harshly.

'I didn't mean it.' said Primarina, Durant skulking up beside her from the shadows. 'Besides I asked a question very softly. You guys need to relax!'

It took Primarina a good few seconds to realize that there was no chance any of them could be relaxed in this situation so shrunk back, allowing Durant to step forward.

'Couldn't find anything of use.' he told them, shaking his head. 'Everything here has been destroyed, stolen or past it's working date.'

'Durant, tell Scizor to stay!' Lopunny came right up to him, slightly alarming Durant. 'He says he's off to get Keldeo all by himself! He thinks he can take on Bisharp and the others in his state!'

Scizor looked round at Durant who shrugged.

'He ain't a sprog anymore.' he said casually. 'He can do what he likes.'

'See?' Scizor tapped Lopunny on the forehead before Durant continued.

'Even if he what he does is fuckin' stupid.'

'Huh?' Scizor was whipping back and forth between the two, befuddled.

'Seriously?' Durant scowled at his old pupil. 'You are joking right?'

'I'm not.' Scizor shook his head. 'I'm not going to give explanations again but you know better than anyone that I work better alone.'

'Yes you did such a good job against that Giratina thing by yourself didn't you?' Durant rolled his eyes. Scizor's eye twitched again.

'You really have a selective memory.' he muttered.

'If he wants to set off himself does that mean that I can go home-' Primarina halted her words, not even due to noticing Lopunny's venomous look. _Come on Lucina_ , _you're better than this!_ 'I mean, you can't do that Scizor! Look how far we've come!'

'I know full well you don't want to be here, Primarina.' Scizor said to her. 'You've been wanting to leave ever since we started. I don't blame ya. In fact I'd encourage it.'

'Not since I saw your old home, Fort Dolorem.' Primarina stated, her voice tinged with sympathy. 'I was told about the horrors caused by the warfare. How lives were torn apart and many pokemon struggled to regain their lives and ended up taking them. I think I would be better off helping them as much as possible rather than demonizing the ones who mean the most to you.'

'Scizor...' Lopunny said slowly, aware that he was being attacked on various sides. 'How do you plan on getting Keldeo anyway? You're still injured. You're in no fit state to fight them just now.'

'Like you said,' Scizor gestured at her. 'I don't need to engage, I can use stealth. I'll figure something out.'

'Oh!' Primarina's eyes lit up. 'Did you see the scary ones chest?' She mimed an elbow jamming motion. 'Scizor struck it and it seemed to weaken him! He was pretty pissed off after it so maybe that's his weak spot!'

'Of course!' Lopunny snapped her fingers and beamed. 'That's where Gallade stabbed him. He won't want to expose that to you Scizor I'll tell you!'

'You're getting sharper.' Durant said to Primarina. She smiled broadly and was about to state her gratefulness before Durant added. 'You're a slightly smoother walrus now.'

'Well there you go.' said Scizor, shrugging. 'If Bisharp comes near me then I know what to do now.'

'Don't be naive boy.' Durant hissed, his feet entrenching slightly. 'I saw you two fighting and he still outmatched you. However, I recognize his style and I'll be able to teach you some techniques to counter it. So you ain't going alone. I'm in for the ride.'

Scizor curled his mouth, his right claw wagging energetically.

'Okay, fine.' he eventually said, his eyes rolling. 'Me and Durant will find Keldeo.'

There was outrage from the two ladies amidst Durant's rather satisfied and mischievous smile.

'So this crazy old bug gets to come along?' Lopunny said indignantly.

'This sounds like sexism to me.' Primarina agreed.

'Cry more.' Scizor said unsympathetically. 'We know the desert, we know what kind of challenges we can run into and how to prepare for them. This isn't your fight.'

'It's my fight the most!' Lopunny yelled at him. Scizor scowled and stepped towards her.

'It's not your brother who has made it his goal to kill you and destroy everything in his past is it!?'

'...Maybe not.' Lopunny shrugged but stood her ground. 'But Nidoqueen! I told myself that I'd never let a pokemon like that roam free, terrorizing innocents and plotting something horrible. And Keldeo too, he's my responsibility. You'll have to physically haul me out the desert if you think I'm abandoning him.'

'Doesn't look too hard.' said Durant, snapping his pincers together.

'And what about me?'

The voice was friendly, familiar and soft enough to be heard unexpectedly without causing a scare. They all turned to see Excadrill, his arms folded and his feet shaking off dirt from the hole burrowed a few feet behind him.

'How long have you been standing there?' asked Primarina.

'About a minute.' Excadrill said, flicking a pebble his shoulder with a casual flick of the claw. 'You may have noticed I get a kick out of watching y'all argue.'

'Let me guess,' Lopunny rolled her eyes at Scizor, her combativeness now getting on his nerves. 'Excadrill can come because he fuckin' knows the desert.' For the last sentence she did a pretty good impression of Scizor's voice, so good in fact that Durant tried not to laugh. This somewhat pleased Lopunny.

'No actually.' Scizor said before addressing Excadrill. 'Your work here is done.'

'Meaning?' Excadrill tapped the side of his head, emptying more earth on to the ground from his ear.

'Meaning you're better off leaving with the others.' Scizor told him firmly. 'Me and Durant will go and get Keldeo ourselves. Thanks for everything you've done for us.'

Lopunny was counting silently on her hands, just waiting for Excadrill to voice his objection. On the third second, he did just that.

'No!' he yelped, shaking off and standing straight. 'You think I'm going to sit back and allow them to do whatever they want to that poor little guy who has been chased relentlessly since he came to Charom? No chance! I'm all in.'

Scizor scratched the back of his head while Durant continued to grin, clearly enjoying the fiasco in front of him.

'You don't think I can't tell that you get nervous?' Scizor said. 'I know for a fact that you'd rather not do this.'

'Well yeah isn't that obvious?' Excadrill looked at Scizor as if he had said something stupid. 'Of course I don't want to go from place to place and come feet from death every other hour. Of course I get nervous, I'm surprised you don't. But we have a duty of care see? It's time to shoulder some responsibility and make sure we all, Keldeo included, come out of this unscathed.'

'Your duty of care is to your wife and kids.' Scizor said solemnly. 'You've been away for too long. They'll want to see you and make sure everything's okay.'

At this, the fire burning in Excadrill's eyes seemed to die out. He slumped his shoulders to the ground before raising his claw to his face and wiping it, visibly uncomfortable.

'What's wrong?' asked Primarina. Excadrill lowered his claw and gazed up at them all with a drained expression.

'My wife left me ages ago.' he stated, the crackling fire behind him carrying on it's blaze. 'Took our daughter too. Said I'm barely present anymore. Says she doesn't want our child to become emotionally dependent on a dad who is always putting his life at risk and to permanently scar her when I bite the dust.'

Lopunny and Scizor said nothing, the news coming to them like a razor wind striking through their bodies. Excadrill picked at his claws, all eyes on him as he continued his story;

'She's living up at Pariliun Cliffs now. Remember the day when we first met?' he said to Lopunny who nodded. 'It was before they came, I was ready to meet our solicitor but then got carried away by seeing you two together. I was just so full of sadness and bitterness at the time. I acted out.'

Primarina sniffled and hurried over to Excadrill, hugging him tightly, her fear of touching his dirty body now gone.

'So you're not the only one thinks he's lost everything, Scizor.' Excadrill said over Primarina's shaking shoulder. 'Remember that this is every Shan'rala pokemon's experience. Every one of them. Except we're going to do something about it.'

Scizor stayed silent and looked round at his comrades. At Excadrill still cuddling tightly into Primarina. Back at his old master, Durant, who's look of gloating smugness was replaced with an apathetic expression. Then at Lopunny, the look in her eyes telling him that she was going nowhere. She had burned past all notions and fears she had hidden when first venturing in the desert. She was more pumped up and ready than ever, and she'd be damned if she let anyone stop her from carrying out the mission.

'This has to be the stupidest idea ever...' Scizor began to say but Lopunny finished for him.

'But when has that stopped you?'

She was referring of course to Scizor's eagerness to join Charizard on his likely suicide mission to save Lucario and stop the Clan of Shadows in the king's castle. How Scizor had told them of the high probability of dying yet still volunteered first in order to give it their best shot. It seemed that it was up to Lopunny to bring back that all-or-nothing mindset back to him. _Challenge accepted_ , she thought.

'Okay then.' Scizor shook his head, the toll of today taking up much of his arguing capabilities. 'Just please don't engage Bisharp.'

'I make no promises.' Lopunny said, flicking a salute at him. She missed the dead serious eyes that Scizor shot at her. 'Excadrill, what information did you find?'

'You'll be pleased to know that one of the camps I asked around at did see a trio of dune buggies driving north.' Excadrill informed them. 'Unfortunately I had to scarper quick cos more of the yamask who want me were edging closer.'

'Makes sense.' Durant said as Lopunny made a move to the campfire to pick up miscellaneous goods. 'Hoodwink's base of operations is in that direction. They'd bring Keldeo straight to that shell sucker.'

'Only question is where to find it...' Excadrill scratched his chin.

'What are you doing?' Primarina asked Lopunny who was dashing around and picking up things to put in her bag. She stopped and stood up straight, the bag slacking on her elbow.

'The more we delay, the more likely something bad will happen to Keldeo!' Lopunny explained as if she was speaking to a rather slow child. 'And by extension, something bad will happen to Charom. We need to act now. We're not all tired are we? Cos I'm not.'

She looked around at the team. Excadrill shook his head.

'I haven't thought of sleeping for ages.' he said grimly.

'I told you I never sleep.' Durant said, the lie causing Lopunny to return a laugh. Primarina sighed and aborted her argument, knowing that she was very much still trying to escape the bad books. Lopunny let out a tiny 'yes!' and pumped her fist. She bent down to pick up her water bottle before Scizor scooped it up instead and waggled it in front of Primarina. Without hesitation, she filled it up with a short, sharp blast and Scizor presented it to Lopunny.

'Why thank you.' she said, smiling and taking the bottle.

'I just want to say,' Scizor said to her, rubbing his covered chest wound. 'That if things go south on our way then...Thank you. For everything.'

Lopunny smiled out of one side of her mouth and blushed, lowering her head to prevent Scizor from seeing. She had a feeling he had more to say but decided to let him keep it for later.

'I never knew you could get sentimental until today.' She placed her heart over his beating heart and Scizor felt that warmth, that loving care that he had felt so little of through his life once again. 'Now isn't the time for thinking the worst. Today was a setback, it is something we can both fight back from. We know this cos we've made it through worse. We can do this. Together.'

* * *

As dawn broke, the sun laid it's assault on the eyes of the pokemon still awake and alert in the treacherous wasteland. A heavy bump woke Nidoqueen from slowly dozing off, her bloodshot eyes now wide and staring around madly at the passing terrain. She looked to her right and saw Zayden behind the steering wheel, his driving and navigational skills impeccable despite his impaired vision as he trundled through the harsh sandstorm beginning to brew. Nidoqueen shielded her face from the incoming dust and grumbled audibly.

'Is there something we can do about this?' she asked loudly to the focused Zayden.

'The weather? Afraid not.' he winced, one arm on the steering wheel and the other flicking away the sand particles. 'Must be a ticked off hippowdon about. There's a cave close by we can take refuge in though.'

Nidoqueen nodded and turned to face the rear of the buggy. The three vehicles had formed a v shape with the two back cars keeping a close eye on Keldeo, who was lying slumped on the smooth surface of the rear, too despondent to do much. Bisharp remained stationary beside him, having not moved a muscle the whole time even to counter the sandstorm. He smirked slightly at Nidoqueen's complaints.

'You're a ground type.' he said loudly over the engine roaring. 'It shouldn't bother you.'

'My eyes aren't the most resistant shall we say?' Nidoqueen said, still covering her face. 'Just because you've trained yourself into not feeling anything, physical or emotional.'

Bisharp said nothing. There was a clattering noise behind him, causing him to rotate one eye over to see Nidoqueen clambering into the middle of the buggy, her large frame carelessly fracturing the fragile components of the rim. She stared hard at Bisharp with her nasty, beady eyes.

'What was that shit you pulled back there?' she pointed ahead of him.

'What are you talking about?' asked Bisharp.

'You blew your chance to kill Scizor.' she told him as behind her, Zayden's grip on the wheel intensified slightly at the mention of his brother. 'It could have been so easy. All you needed to do was push your blade an inch further and you could have eradicated what might be the biggest hindrance to the plan.'

Bisharp stood to his feet. Despite the eventual shift away from Keldeo, the little horse felt no inclination to make a bid for freedom. The two cars behind were still watching intently, Krookodile looking excited and Scolipede calculating.

'Don't let your personal desires jeopardize this mission.' Bisharp said to her firmly, the two maintaining their balance as the buggy drove over another bump. 'We've seen what happens when you let your feelings for revenge get in the way and we paid dearly for it.'

'I'm not even talking about personal here.' Nidoqueen hissed, steadying herself. 'Killing him there and now would have been the most sensible thing to do. And don't give me an answer about honor or some shit.' She added before Bisharp could respond. 'None of what we're doing is honorable so don't start pretending now.'

'Heads.' Chesnaught called out in one of the rear cars. Nidoqueen and Bisharp both instinctively ducked as a low hanging tree branch came dangerously close to catching them both on the head. They stretched back up and continued.

'If I killed Scizor there then you honestly think they'd have handed Keldeo over?' Bisharp asked, pointing down at said pokemon. 'It would be the spark that ignited their resistance, and their fury would have acted as a catalyst to fight harder.'

'We outnumbered them!' Nidoqueen snapped back. 'And we had more than enough firepower to tear them apart where they stood. You have gotten soft haven't you?'

'Have I?' Bisharp snarled, jamming his elbows in and unsheathing two razor sharp blades under his forearms. Keldeo and the other drivers all watched this happen apprehensively while Nidoqueen curled her lip. She loved it when she made Bisharp lose his temper.

'That's the fire I was looking for.' Nidoqueen said, resting a finger on the left blade and pushing it away. 'Next time, hit them with some of that. Tear them apart and make it slow.'

'You really hate that Lopunny don't you?' Bisharp said, lowering his arms but his swords were still hanging out. The mention of her name caused Keldeo's head to flit sharply upwards.

'Oh the things I'd do to her, Bisharp...' Nidoqueen closed her fists tightly, her fingers cracking. 'You wouldn't see me hesitate to rip her heart out. Oh, the urge to just give her the slowest, most agonizing experience...'

'You will never touch Lady Lopunny while I live and breath!' Keldeo plucked up the raw courage to speak out. His voice was defiant and he stared at Nidoqueen with pure loathing.

'Shut up!' Nidoqueen screeched at him, shocked at his audacity to speak without spoken to. Bisharp quickly stepped in her way.

'Watch it!' he bit at her. 'We don't-'

Bisharp hesitated before reaching into a pouch placed by his side when he was standing guard over Keldeo. From the insides, he pulled out a small wooden board and extended a smaller blade, letting it fall into his hand. Zayden rolled his eyes, his posture becoming more relaxed as he continued to drive. Nidoqueen watched with bemusement as Scizor engraved something quickly on the board with his knife. After a few seconds he finished, turning the board in his hands and presenting it to Nidoqueen. She craned her neck and read;

 _We don't know what he's capable of._

She looked up from the slate and stared at Bisharp with a disdainful expression curling across her face.

'Why would he-'

Bisharp tapped the bottom of the board, his eyes visibly impatient. Nidoqueen glanced down, this time noticing a smaller text embedded roughly into the dark wood.

 _Not in front of him._

'Oh.' Nidoqueen nodded, looking foolish.

'End of conversation.' Bisharp said, dropping the board. Keldeo tried to peer and see what it said but Bisharp quickly stamped sharply, shattering the slate into hundreds of tiny pieces, the flow of the buggy sending them flying backwards into the unknown.

'You amuse me.' Zayden said over the loud engine. Nidoqueen and Bisharp turned to listen. 'You hunters. You don't seem to understand the target law of the land.'

'What's that?' Nidoqueen asked but it was Bisharp who answered.

'If you take out the target that a fellow mercenary wants for himself then that are free to make you their next target.'

'I see.' Nidoqueen raised her eyebrow before addressing Zayden again. 'So you want your brother for yourself?'

'It would seem preferable.' Zayden shrugged, turning at the wheel and swerving slightly. 'However I'll be the first to admit I'm not the best fighter and Blaze would beat me when he recovers. As long as he meets his end soon I'm not fussed.'

'Why do you hate him?' Nidoqueen asked, perching her rear down and holding on to the top of the buggy for steadiness. 'Your brother? What did he do?'

Zayden adjusted the mirror on the side, showing Nidoqueen the whites of his scarred eye. She nodded in understanding before twisting her head and throwing a mocking face Bisharp's way. He didn't respond.

'Surely that was a long time ago?' she asked. Zayden jammed hard on the stick and forced the car up a larger molehill, the occupants now feeling paranoid about their stability.

'It sure feels like it. Too long.' Zayden growled, the thoughts of Blaze boiling his blood. 'He comes back from the Shan'rala-Rylus war a known hero for his exploits while I get fucking nothing. Almost a decade passes and just when I think that his status had faded what happens? He becomes a hero again! This time he has the whole of Charom to bask in his greatness while I'm left behind once again. It does funny things to folk I'll tell you that.'

'You're jealous I see.' Nidoqueen smirked, holding out her hand to stop the sandstorm effects.

'I make no secret of it.' said Zayden, pulling back down on the lever. 'Just like you make it no secret that you're jealous of Lopunny.'

'Oh I'm not jealous dear.' Nidoqueen said snidely. Bisharp snorted. Nidoqueen shot him a venom-filled look before carrying on. 'The face that I've been so lenient with her is the most annoying part. I could snap her like a twig yet still she persists. She thinks she's some sort of big deal to be followed and admired wherever but when the time comes, she hides behind the men in her life and waits for them to do her dirty work. What I wouldn't give to have her and me alone in a room with no support. It'll be a bloodbath.'

'Jealousy has a stigma attached to it.' Zayden smirked, listening to Nidoqueen's words with empathy. 'We all feel it. Shouldn't be ashamed to act on it, it improves ones self desire to get out and do things with their lives.' He then pointed ahead. 'Look, there's the cave.'

Bisharp and Nidoqueen looked upwards to see a giant brown rock structure, flat at the top with a large opening in the middle leading to a dark cavern. It was quite a sight to behold. Keldeo had been listening to Nidoqueen talk about Lopunny with such a burning mixture of hatred and frustration for not being able to do anything about it. His body was quivering so badly that he didn't react when he saw Bisharp staring at his odd behavior beside him. Keldeo was actually shocked to see Bisharp eyeing Nidoqueen and Zayden with a unequal but still obvious level of disdain as they continued to moan and vent their hatred for Scizor and Lopunny. _Should I risk asking him something?_ thought Keldeo, his nerves jangling. However, all thoughts of the situation were swept away by the shout of a massive voice from on high.

'KELDEO!'

All three cars skidded to a halt just outside the cave that Zayden had guided them to. Keldeo's mouth dropped wide open, his heart in a flurry. Finally! At long last! He attempted to stand to his feet but Bisharp shoved him harshly down, dropping any potential chances of conversation between the two.

'Who goes there?' Zayden shouted loudly but the voice ignored his question.

'Get your hands away from him, scarlet knight!'

Bisharp looked up at Nidoqueen who shook her head in equal confusion.

'Co...Cob...' Keldeo spluttered, his cheek pressed against the buggy floor. Suddenly, Krookodile's startled voice rang out.

'What the fuck are they?' he pointed at the cave entrance. Everyone but the struggling Keldeo looked to where Krookodile was gesturing at. Emerging from the darkness of the caverns insides where three quadrupedal figures. The left, green and slender, the right, brown and stocky, the middle, blue and strong.

'Not seen anything like those things before.' Chesnaught said, scratching his chin.

'I think...you have.' Beeheeyem said slowly, pointing at Keldeo ahead of them. Chesnaught's eyes widened suddenly and he stood from his wheel, his voice projecting all the way to Zayden.

'I think they know the asset!'

'Yeah I figured that out.' Zayden shouted back.

'Let's not make this complicated.' Cobalion said loudly, the musketeers and buggies separated by about ten to fifteen metres. 'Give us Keldeo and you can walk away from this unscathed.'

'But if you've hurt him at all...' Virizion said.

'Then prepare for the fight of your lives.' Terrakion finished. Zayden sat where he was, tapping his wheel with his claw as Nidoqueen loomed over his shoulder.

'Let's run them all over.'

'I think they'd see that coming.' Zayden hissed back. Cobalion caught sight of Zayden and his damaged eye. The notion that a visibly dangerous and possibly manic pokemon that had caught Keldeo unnerved him to no end.

'I'm not going to ask you again.' Cobalion warned them. Bisharp stood up quickly, pressing his foot on Keldeo to keep him at bay.

'We know you won't.' Bisharp growled, unsheathing his devastating blades once again, eager for some combat after Nidoqueen's inflammatory words. Zayden held his hand out at him and stepped out the vehicle, his arms opened wide.

'Tell us who you are.' he said rather welcomingly. Cobalion wasn't having any of the warmness.

'We're the Swords of Justice.' he said proudly. 'And we believe you have our fourth member with you.'

'Never heard of you.' Zayden said, his pincer subtly beckoning behind his back. 'Look listen, I'm guessing you have no idea where you are right?'

'Wrong.' said Virizion, planting down on all fours. 'This is Charom.'

'And Charom spells bad news for us.' Terrakion rumbled, cracking his muscles.

'You know I actually agree with you!' Nidoqueen gestured at them, smiling out the side of her mouth.

'Well this place is the Shan'rala Desert guys.' Zayden continued his shpeil. 'And let me tell you something... You walked into the wrong place.'

The musketeers all looked at each other with amused expressions infused with puzzlement.

'Is that it?' Cobalion shouted back, Zayden continuing to flick his claw back and Bisharp still trapping Keldeo under his foot. 'Ugh I don't have time for this. Keldeo we're coming to get you! You asked for it!'

'No literally!' Zayden cried out as in the furthest car, Scolipede tossed a small trigger at him which he caught without looking. 'You walked into the wrong place!'

The moment that Cobalion, Terrakion and Virizion stepped into the light of the day, Zayden pushed the trigger. Over the Swords of Justice's heads, a monumental explosion ripped apart the brown rocks on the craggy ceiling. The flames spouted everywhere with Nidoqueen clasping her head in pain. Bisharp ducked and shielded Keldeo, in a fashion that a mother would protect her child, from the devastating noise. Instantly the cave roof began to crumble, huge chunks of rock descending on top of of the musketeers. They all tried to escape as fast as they could but to no avail. Virizion ducked and weaved with elegance before a rogue rock struck him on the head, rendering him unconscious immediately. Terrakion was muscling past the large mass of debris before it eventually overwhelmed and buried him. Cobalion meanwhile was making the furthest progress towards Keldeo, slicing up falling stones with his horn and all the while, charging up a stream of silvery-blue energy from his mouth.

'What's going on!?' Keldeo wailed. Bisharp didn't react, he was instead waiting for whatever Cobalion was about to produce. He thought he could see the shape of a sword forming before his blue head before turning down, pointing straight at the cars. Before anything could be done with it though, Cobalion was clattered with more debris, the smoke clogging his mouth and vision and eventually, he was buried under the avalanche along with this comrades, the potential sacred sword attack floating away depressingly.

'Oh well done!' Nidoqueen whooped and clapped loudly as did the others. Zayden threw the trigger back to Scolipede and cracked his arms before sliding back into his buggy casually, the engine still chugging along as usual. 'Good job Zayden! That was amazing! No mercy, see?' Nidoqueen winked over at Bisharp who took his foot off the whimpering Keldeo and glared in both their directions.

'It's how I make up for my lack of fighting skills.' Zayden said, barely containing his self absorbed grin. 'I sure know where to plant a bomb or two.'

Bisharp leaned over the car to speak directly to him.

'Did you see what that blue one was about to do?'

'Yeah some weird attack.' Zayden shrugged. 'So what?'

'If my hunch is correct,' Bisharp said, allowing Keldeo to stand to his feet and stare at the rocky pile ahead of them, his mouth shaking and his eyes watering. 'that could have been a more powerful version of whatever Keldeo has.'

'Fuck you...' Keldeo trembled, wisps of blue energy beginning to form at his horn. 'Those pokemon mean everything to me! You dare!'

He whirled round in the direction of Zayden but Nidoqueen bounded over her seat and reached out with her claw. She grabbed Keldeo's head and forcefully slammed him against the buggy wall, instantly cancelling the charging sacred sword attack. Keldeo slumped downwards, his mouth beginning to bleed profusely and as a result, more embers of blue smoke emerging.

'Swap seats.' Nidoqueen barked at a taken aback Bisharp. 'You're not up to the task of keeping him at bay.'

Bisharp knew it was pointless to argue, so he slid across the middle and dropped down into the seat beside Zayden, who was waving and raising his voice to the others behind him.

'Unfortunately, I cancelled out the short cut.' he told them, Bisharp continuing to stare upwards at Cobalion's remnant smoke and Nidoqueen pinning Keldeo down. 'We go the long way now. Sorry about that.'

'It was worth it!' laughed Krookodile, echoed by Chesnaught and Scolipede. All three buggies started up again and began to accelerate, turning past the cave to the right and around the large rock structure, intending to go to the same location.

'I know what you're thinking,' Zayden said to Bisharp as he turned the wheel. 'but no. I'd be very surprised if one of them survived that landslide.'

'It wouldn't be the worst thing if we siphoned up that stream.' Bisharp pointed over his opposite shoulder at the silver smoke. 'Think of the power that will-'

'We have what we need!' Zayden seemed to lose his cool slightly. 'We don't need to go back. All I want is for us to reach Hoodwink and accomplish my goal as soon as possible. Got it?'

Bisharp leaned back in his seat, his expression cold.

'If you ever talk to me like that again,' he warned him, his voice so threatening that Nidoqueen and Keldeo were put off their struggle behind them and shivered. 'I'll do to you what I never did to your brother and end you.'

Nidoqueen couldn't help but bite her lip slightly at the sheer danger and power that Bisharp was exerting. Zayden sniffed, refusing to look at Bisharp.

'I would have been welcome to that a while ago.' Zayden murmured so only Bisharp could hear. 'Now though, I'll take your advice. What I just did to those three pokemon there gave me quite a buzz...And I'll be damned if I can't do it again anytime soon.'


	14. Chapter Thirteen: The New Alliance

**Chapter Thirteen: The New Alliance**

Lopunny was not lying when she said she wasn't tired. The energy and vigor she was exerting in her determined stride was so much that even the burrowing Excadrill had to dig up to the surface to catch his breath. The occasional desert dwellers passing by were completely taken aback at the sight of this city-sleeper marching in such a motivated fashion. It was almost midday, the sun exerting its interstellar dominance over its tiny subject world. Excadrill had told them that as they progressed further north from their detour of Fort Dolorem, it was more likely that they would bump into some unwelcome mercenary presence but Lopunny was keen for some action now. It would be good to shake off any doubts about herself by administering a good old fashioned beatdown.

'Would you slow down a bit?' Excadrill popped up in front of Lopunny who skidded to a halt. He was panting heavily, the sweat dripping from his forehead actually clearing the mud away.

'No!' Lopunny brushed Excadrill aside and carried on her intense travel. 'We can't afford to slow down, Excadrill. We have a deadline to meet and bad guys to thwart!'

'Oh okay.' Excadrill said behind her, rolling his eyes. 'So how are you going to thwart these bad guys then?'

'I'll...' Lopunny finally slowed down. 'I'll figure something out. Or we'll figure something out!' she added, seeing Scizor, Primarina and Durant finally catch up with her. 'Won't we guys?'

The three of them caught up, all spluttering and staring at Lopunny with aghast expressions. Scizor had his hands behind his back and was attempting to take in as much air as he could while Primarina whimpered something about cardio training.

'What's the matter?' Lopunny said, hands on hips and looking at Scizor and Durant. 'Thought you'd be good at desert running.'

'We are!?' Scizor said defensively before tapping his claw off his opposite shoulder, making a clanking noise. 'We just have a lot of metal on us by the way. Oh and if you remember, I did get stabbed.' He pointed at his covered but healing wound.

'Okay fair.' Lopunny shrugged.

'You need to calm down rabbit.' Durant scowled, spitting on the sand. 'You'll end up spraining an ankle with those bouncy steps of yours.'

'Hey that's biology.' Lopunny said, rather affronted. 'We all have our skills. Me and Scizor can jump, you and Excadrill can dig...'

'I can swim.' Primarina said glumly, gazing around at the desert. 'I'm really cut out here aren't I?'

'You're fucking right.' Durant's blunt responses had returned. Lopunny began to bounce on the balls of her feet energetically again.

'Okay we had a break.' she told them as Scizor gazed over her shoulder at something in the distance. 'Now can we get moving again? It'll get dark soon!'

'No it won't?' Excadrill corrected her. 'It's the end of morning!'

'I mean the situation.' Lopunny said quickly. Excadrill shook his head.

'Lopunny...' Scizor slowly said.

'Scizor we can't delay and you know that.' Lopunny turned to him as he continued to stare at something far behind her. 'We won't let Zayden, Bisharp and Nidoqueen win this one. Let's get psyched! Yeah let's get pumped!'

'What is the matter with you?' Primarina and Durant said at the same time.

'I'm just eager to actually get some work done!' Lopunny insisted.

'Lopunny look.' Scizor pointed sharply ahead. 'If you were paying attention, we could have gotten this work done sooner.'

They all turned to where Scizor was pointing, Lopunny looking sheepish while she did. Despite the dust of the dunes clogging up their senses, about a quarter of a mile away was a slight glimmer in the air. A glimmer that sent Lopunny into her most giddy frenzy yet.

'Keldeo!'

'Lopunny wait!' Scizor reached out to haul her back but in a second, she had whizzed ahead. 'Fucking hell! he swore violently and gave chase, followed by Primarina, Durant and Excadrill. Lopunny darted at an alarming speed forward, hoping that luck had prevailed and Keldeo had somehow escaped...Only to find a wisp of the familiar blue gas floating, slowly turning opaque.

'Oh...' she said sadly, her fingers slowly waving in and out of the energy. There was a clatter behind her and Scizor grabbed her by the arm.

'Lopunny, don't just run off into the unknown when you see something!' he scolded her, the others by his side. 'That could have easily been put there to bait you.'

'I'm sorry!' she moaned, fanning away the mist and dismayed with herself. 'I just got excited.'

'Curious.' Excadrill stepped forward, scratching his chin.

'What's curious?' asked Primarina timidly. 'More importantly, good curious or bad curious.'

'If I remember correctly,' said Excadrill, pointing at what was in front of them. 'That was the entrance to a cave once.'

The group all turned to see a huge pile of cracked rocks and boulders in front of a huge stone structure. The cavern seemed to stretch on sideways for at least a hundred metres. The top of the cave entrance appeared to have been damaged severely, with some of the stone formation charred black.

'It looks like it's been blown up.' Scizor said, clenching his claws. 'And we all know he looks blowing things up don't we?'

'Look, more of Keldeo's energy!' Primarina nodded to her left at the swirling, pale vapor in the air. Durant blinked and looked closer at it, his neck cracking as it did.

'No...' he said slowly. 'This is different. It's more silver than blue.' He turned to face his friends. 'Do you think it's more soggy unicorns that are around here?'

Lopunny and Scizor glanced at each other, both thinking hard but their progress was interrupted by Excadrill hushing them all.

'Do you hear that?'

They all craned their necks and listened. Sure enough, there were faint groaning sounds, as if by multiple pokemon, all stemming from underneath the huge pile of debris before them.

'Under there!' Lopunny jolted towards the pile and picked up the most forefront rock. 'There are pokemon underneath and I have a feeling I know who! Help me!'

She tossed the rock to the side, narrowly avoiding a ducking Excadrill and moved to the next one. The others quickly joined, all making an effort to shift, lift or shatter all chunks of stone that littered the path and trapped the poor pokemon under. As Lopunny flung another piece away, she glanced to her lift at Scizor, who had lifted up a particularly large piece. His biceps and triceps were magnified by the effort he put in, their definition clear as the blue sky. Lopunny blushed and quickly got back to work to avoid further distraction. Excadrill was very effective at this, his powerful and rapid clawed strikes breaking apart stone after stone but the exhaustion was beginning to set in a long morning.

'This is...hard.' Lopunny panted, struggling to lob one backwards. 'We got any quicker methods?'

As Excadrill floundered his arms out in protest of the hard work he was doing, Primarina let out a squeak.

'Guys I got it! Stand back!'

Everyone hesitated. Primarina has an idea? Oh dear.

'Come on, quick!' she gestured frantically at them. Eventually, they did as they were told. Primarina braced her body and lowered her head, her mouth jetting out a steady stream of water at the bottom of the landslide. The water quickly had an effect on the rocks, with some being carried away and others slowly sinking into the sand. Everyone seemed impressed.

'Oh!' Scizor made a bemused expression at Lopunny which she mirrored. 'Nicely done!'

'First useful thing you've done all journey.' Durant grunted, shaking off his sodden feet.

'Well we better get shredding to stop the pokemon from sinking!' Excadrill leaped forward and began cutting up some of the larger rocks that remained durable, his razor sharp claws making awful scraping noises as he hacked and stabbed.

'I see someone!' Lopunny pointed, a gap emerging and a blue colour detected. Excadrill lunged back and split the rock behind him wide open, the sudden swirl of air causing the blue pokemon to gasp violently and cough dust everywhere.

'I got you!' Lopunny and Primarina both pulled Cobalion out from the wreckage as Excadrill attempted to haul another figure from deep within. Scizor stared up and down this mysterious pokemon as he was helped to his feet, seeing a strong resemblance to Keldeo and wondering if this was really one of the fabled 'Swords of Justice.'

'Are you okay?' Lopunny asked, dusting Cobalion's back off as Primarina took in every inch of him with awe. Durant had begun to help Excadrill, the two now pulling out the figure of Virizion.

'Yes...I think I'm fine.' he wheezed, his vision beginning to refocus. 'Thank you. I believe I owe you my life.'

It was then that Cobalion finished his rapid fire blinking and regained his sight, the first thing he made out in front of him...was Scizor.

'YOU!'

Immediately, Cobalion lunged forward, the power of his bounce knocking Lopunny and Primarina to the side. His mighty hooves slammed into Scizor's already aching chest, pushing him into the ground and pinning him there.

'What the fuck?!' Scizor shouted, clamping his claws around Cobalion's calves and attempting to push him off but the musketeer was incredibly strong. Lopunny quickly staggered up, clenching her fists.

'Get off him!' she yelled, darting towards Cobalion and leaping into his body. The sickening clanking noise was all Primarina heard as she shut her eyes. When she opened them again, she saw Lopunny staggering randomly around, clutching her head and clearly disorientated.

'Why don't steel pokemon actually look like steel?' she whimpered, her forehead throbbing. As Scizor struggled with his predicament, Excadrill and Durant had pulled the semi conscious Virizion out from the earth. He seemed just as groggy as Cobalion had been and he kept muttering 'how do I look?'.

'You'll pay for what you've done to him!' Cobalion growled, his face a foot from Scizor's. Scizor furrowed his brows as his grip remained strong and his muscles screamed.

'You've made a...big mistake.' Scizor's face was strained and determined until he tried to make a jokey comment. 'Quite easy to make unless you're THIS close to me. Urk!'

Cobalion pushed harder than ever and began to concentrate. Scizor's eyes fell on Cobalion's head where a silvery blue shape was beginning to form, again similar to Keldeo's Sacred Sword.

'Tell me where you've taken him or I'll send you to the next world with this.' Cobalion hissed, his sacred sword almost fully forming. Scizor knew at this point what he had to do and neither of them were going to like it.

'Oh I'm gonna regret this.' he muttered out loud before shutting his eyes.

BANG!

Scizor had lunged upright at a blinding speed, his head making contact with Cobalions in a slam of biblical magnitude. Cobalion toppled over, yelling in agony and Scizor stayed lying where he was, clutching his face while howling at the top of his lungs.

'OW OW OW.' he roared, rolling on the floor as if he'd been shot.

'I'm seeing stars!' Cobalion stumbled, his two right legs giving away.

'Well I am pretty well known.' Primarina said to him, hoping he would see her batting eyelids.

'Oh shut up.' Lopunny tutted, still massaging her head from her contact with Cobalion. 'I think I know who this is.'

'Who?'

'Cobalion!' A voice from behind made them turn, Scizor and Cobalion still twitching where they were. It was Virizion, flanked by Durant and Excadrill. Their conflict had gone off without a hitch it seemed as Virizion was calling out to his leader in a plea to stop. 'Cobalion! He's not the same Scizor!'

'What the hell is wrong with your mate!?' Scizor sat up, his head throbbing. 'Could he not see that I have two eyes!?'

'Give him the benefit of the doubt, Scizor.' Lopunny urged for calm. 'You are the spitting image...Except for the obvious.'

'Hey wait a minute.' Virizion looked from left to right. 'I thought I heard someone call us soggy unicorns-'

'That was me.' Durant said without missing a beat. Virizion glanced down at Durant, analyzing his downtrodden appearance and turned his nose up. His disgust for Durant was about as subtle as Durant's for Virizion's. Durant's eyes luckily were not fixed on Virizion but a small, black and smoldered shard of something on the rock he was standing on. Excadrill watched as Durant scooped it up and observed it with keen eyes before tucking it in his right pincer.

'It's a piece of Hoodwink's explosive.' Durant told Excadrill, sniffing it. Excadrill's nose was turned up as well, apparently taking in it's scent with curiosity.

'Why does it smell like...' Excadrill's wonder was cut off by a moaning sound.

'Uggghhh...' Cobalion had finally staggered upright, black spots still infesting his vision. 'My senses have taken a pounding today.'

'Yeah well,' Scizor shrugged, shaking himself off. 'can't imagine the pain you've been through buddy.'

Cobalion eventually recovered from his state of trauma, trying to take in the other pokemons forms. It sure wasn't the Bisharp or the Nidoqueen that had accompanied the Scizor. These folk seemed friendlier, not hostile at all. He decided to approach this sensibly but with a level of authority.

'I demand to know who you are.'

Lopunny stepped forward, Primarina flitting her line of sight between the standing musketeers with an apparent look of hunger that Excadrill noticed.

'I'm Lopunny...' She started to say before realizing she could approach this differently. 'We're friends of Keldeo. We're looking for him.'

Cobalion glanced over at Virizion still on top of the rocks who shrugged.

'You are, are you? How can we trust you?' Cobalion said, rather aggressively but Lopunny answered effectively.

'All for one and one for all.' she said to him. 'That's your motto. You're the Swords of Justice.'

'Ah.' Cobalion looked impressed and Virizion relieved. 'So you have heard of us? That makes a change.'

'Only thanks to Keldeo.' Lopunny said bashfully.

'Well that's disappointing.' Cobalion sagged a little.

'Isn't there supposed to be another one of you?' Scizor asked. Lopunny gasped.

'Oh no!' she flurried pointed fingers at the remaining rocks. 'He's still trapped. Let's save him!'

'Nah don't you worry darling.' Virizion smirked, stepping away from Durant and Excadrill and adopting an elegant stride. 'If we survived that then Terrakion definitely has. He's probably napping right now honestly.'

'Wow really?' Primarina raised her eyebrows at this, her voice shooting to it's highest yet. 'He's strong eh? Will be nice to get some power in about here.'

Excadrill and Scizor made eye contact with each other, both exasperated and a tiny bit insecure. Scizor then cleared his throat loudly for everyone to hear.

'Oh yes.' Cobalion addressed him. 'I apologize for that little incident. I hope no offence was taken.'

'No offence, lot of suffocating.' Scizor gingerly rubbed his chest. 'I think you got me mixed up for my brother. He's the one we're after.'

'We're after Keldeo.' Primarina corrected him, brushing her hair back very obviously in front of Cobalion and Virizion. 'To save him.'

'Yes Primarina we have to save Keldeo.' Scizor's eyes rolled up to face the sky, his patience being managed by his sarcasm. 'And how do we get to him? By going to wherever Zayden is!'

'Well the sooner we find our little friend and escape this place, the better.' said Cobalion, stretching out his legs. 'The land of Charom is bad enough without these monstrous pokemon who kidnap Keldeo because they fear what they don't understand.'

'Woah hey.' Excadrill tip toed down the rubble. 'Charom ain't bad at all! Granted you might have ended up in a place that sure doesn't showcase that but the majority of pokemon here are good!'

'It's Shan'rala, Excadrill.' Durant said, the only one still positioned on the rocks. 'Good? Bad? It's a load of bullshit. There's only survival.'

'You're a cheery one.' said Virizion, his statement sending Primarina into heaps of giggling which made Lopunny's stomach turn at how simpering it was. Durant was about to retort when an upheaval of rocks shifting caused him to jump out the way. The group all turned to watch as an enormous, broad shouldered figure slowly emerged itself from it's temporary tomb, coughing up dust with such a force that even Scizor at the back needed to shield his eyes.

'Ugh...What happened?' Terrakion spluttered, his eyes half gummed together. 'Last thing I remember was a loud noise overhead...'

'Take it easy.' Lopunny slowly approached as Terrakion muscled his way past rubble. 'It was an explosive. The pokemon we're after have Keldeo, and we're going to need your help to find him.'

'And for the record,' Scizor appeared over Lopunny's shoulder with his arms raised. 'I ain't the guy who did this. We're just related.'

'I can tell that. Your eyes are different.' Terrakion nodded understandingly. He looked over at Cobalion and let out a wheezy yet hearty laugh. 'Did our fearless leader get the jump on you? He's quite the hot head that one.'

'It's not because I'm a hot head, it's because of thorough.' Cobalion insisted as Virizion, Lopunny and a trying-too-hard Primarina laughed.

'To be fair Coby,' Virizion stepped beside him with a charming and roguish smile. 'You do have a habit of jumping into situations without thinking. We had to stop him from just running out to snatch Keldeo himself!'

'At this point I'm starting to think that would have been the best option.' Cobalion told them. 'One strike is all I need to get the job done.'

The Swords of Justice were all standing together, the three of them unlike anything the others had seen before. All three tall, striking, powerful and unique in their own right. It was little wonder to Lopunny that Keldeo seemed to value these guys as the ones he looked up to more than anything.

'Right well,' Cobalion turned to face Scizor and Lopunny, bowing his head. 'Thank you for pulling us out of there. We'll be on our way.'

'Wait, what?' Lopunny said aghast. 'You can't go now?'

'Why not?' Cobalion asked, Terrakion and Virizion either side of him. 'We now know how little time we have to act. We need to find where Keldeo is, rescue him from those pokemon and leave this island.'

'That's what we're doing too!' Lopunny argued. 'We saved Keldeo from the wilderness and traveled with him for days! We made it our responsibility to make sure Keldeo comes back to you guys safe and sound.'

'Then why is he with those pokemon now?' asked Cobalion shrewdly. Lopunny stammered.

'We...We were ambushed.' she said apologetically. Virizion and Terrakion looked at each other skeptically before Scizor came to Lopunny's aid.

'We were trapped. The only reason we're still alive is because Keldeo volunteered to hand himself in. Don't believe me?' Scizor unsheathed the cloak fastened around his chest. Virizion made a sickened gasp and Terrakion became green in the face as Scizor showed them his wound which, despite healing up nice and quickly, still exposed the tender insides of Scizor's body.

'Keldeo...gave himself up?' Cobalion murmured, looking back at his companions.

'To save us.' Scizor stated, tying the bandage back around. 'And now it's time for us to return the favour. We have enough motivation to find him anyway.'

'I can't believe he would do that.' Terrakion said, his tone mesmerized. 'Keldeo. He was always plucky and moral but this is on a whole other scale.'

'I believe it.' Cobalion said, a sense of pride distilling within him. 'His bite well and truly backs up his bark.'

'Those pokemon he's with?' Lopunny pointed hypothetically at the sky. 'We know them pretty well and they're very evil and extremely dangerous. They're up to something and whatever it is, they need Keldeo for it. The only way we can stop them is by working together. To save Keldeo and Charom.'

Cobalion reverted back to his unenthusiastic grimace.

'Hate to let you down but the future of Charom is bleak as it is.' he said. Virizion scowled visibly.

'Coby, you don't know that for sure. A lot of pokemon believe those stories to just be fairy tales.'

'You doubt his word at your own peril.' Cobalion murmured back. 'Remember what you learned in the halls; to ignore Arceus is to ignore fate.'

'Sorry what is there to worry about?' Excadrill came forward as both Scizor and Durant tuned out of what Cobalion was saying, assuming it was some sort of philosophical mumbo-jumbo.

'Doesn't matter.' said Cobalion curtly. He straightened himself up and resumed his talk with Lopunny. 'Look, I appreciate your intent and I obviously can't rule you out as foes if Keldeo thinks highly of you but it cannot be. This large a party will slow us down and we made it our goal to complete this quickly and efficiently. We'll take it from here.'

He bowed his head and turned west, sniffing the air.

'I can scent faint traces. He's had an injury so his sacred trace will follow a path-'

'He speaks the highest of you.' Lopunny said. The musketeers faced her again, Primarina, Excadrill and Durant all coming round to team with Scizor and Lopunny. The two parties faced each other, a quiet ringing out through the desert.

'He does?' Cobalion said, Terrakion and Virizion shooting glances at each other.

'Yeah.' Lopunny nodded before continuing. 'He claims you're the bravest pokemon he knows. That you'll stop at nothing to prioritize innocent pokemon's safety and to stop evil wherever it goes.'

'Yeah...' Cobalion said slowly before turning on his side. 'Which is what I'm doing.'

'No it isn't.'

Everyone was shocked to see that Terrakion had stood firm along with Virizion. They seemed to be defiant and stationary. Cobalion stopped where he was, staring at them both.

'These guys say that Keldeo's captors are dangerous and have bad intentions.' Terrakion said. 'They're keeping Keldeo alive but who knows how much damage they could inflict on citizens. It's not right to prioritize Keldeo above them all. Each is worthy of living their life.'

'Well...' Cobalion screwed his mouth to the side. 'I'm in no position to out my trust in pokemon of late. Everyone we've bumped into on this cursed land has either been a coward or hostile. I'm still not fully sold on you guys.'

'You know what Keldeo did for me?' Scizor said loudly, his nerves being grated by Cobalion's stubbornness which was reminding him horribly of Gallade at his worst. 'He gave me some of the best advice I've received. Better advice than any friend or family member. He said that the skills I have that hold me back can be used for a purpose. A purpose to give my life meaning, something that I've been looking for ever since I was a boy. Does that sound like something he'd say?'

Cobalion pawed the ground, his expression blank. It was as if he was calculating everything around him.

'Sounds like something I'd say.' he said remorsefully. 'He really took that in his stride huh?' Cobalion sighed deeply, knowing when he had been beaten. 'Okay then. The looks I'm getting from my good friends Terrakion and Virizion tell me that my beliefs are not shared by them. We will unite then.'

Lopunny clasped her hands together and breathed a huge sigh of relief.

'Thank you!' she said hoarsely, grateful that this didn't go on for as long as it could have. 'I think together we can-'

'However,' Cobalion stepped forward, his voice low and his tone threatening which caused Lopunny to gulp and Scizor to frown. 'the cause of Keldeo's capture is still on you. If we find out that something irreversible has happened to him then we have you to blame for it. And by order of the crown of our homeland we will take it upon ourselves to execute you where you stand. Is that clear?'

Cobalion raised his eyes waiting for a response while Terrakion and Virizion seemed to avoid eye contact with everyone. Primarina seemed to be too carried away in her daydreams that none of what Cobalion said was telling them.

'Oh it's clear.' Scizor said, his voice deeper than usual. Cobalion nodded curtly.

'Lead the way then.'

'My pleasure.' As Scizor and Lopunny moved to the front, both Scizor's and Cobalion's eyes fixed on each other, daring the opponent to look away first. Eventually, Scizor turned to focus on what was ahead of him as Lopunny trotted on his right.

'It's clear but not taken.' Scizor muttered, Lopunny pursing her lips. 'Primarina's crown has been usurped. We got a new king twat.'

'So this is Keldeo's hero huh?' she murmured, keeping her voice quiet as possible. 'Not what I expected to be honest.'

Cobalion followed the lead two with Terrakion and Virizion on his trail. Virizion turned his head to shoot an apologetic look at Excadrill, Durant and Primarina before everyone began to move, the two groups as one now.

'We're going to regret this.' Durant tutted, Primarina on his side and Excadrill bringing up the rear with a rather lethargic plodding. 'Anyone who talks the way that blue one does is going the right way for a clawed out throat.'

'Oh come on! What's not to love?' Primarina smiled whimsically, her vision fixed on the backs of the musketeers and wishing she had three eyes. 'The boys are getting tough! Good market now considering that Scizor is off limits.'

'Oh so if he's handsome it's flirting but when he's ugly it's harassment.' Durant rolled his eyes, this statement causing Primarina to turn bright red. Her walk became a lot quicker after this while Durant clutched the shard of Hoodwink's bomb in his pincers, chuckling softly. At the back, Excadrill was deep in thought. The threat by Cobalion hadn't bothered him at all really but something else he said had. The supposed legend of Charom's future he had hinted at. How Virizion had dismissed it but Cobalion was so certain. _It would be interesting dissecting this guy_ , Excadrill thought, sharpening his claws and preparing to dig. _Unless Keldeo is dead and we'll have to literally dissect him in retaliation._

* * *

'In.'

Keldeo was dragged sharply by a jolting motion. Nidoqueen tugged again, Keldeo's head being pulled forward by the muzzle around his mouth connected to the rope she was holding. The room they had entered was a musty office with a large table by an even larger window. Out of the window was a constant rattling, sawing and sparking, giving the impression that everyone was hard at work in construction. A figure was looking out at his surroundings, his orange arms behind his back, his red mohawk falling to one side.

'Job done sir.' Krookodile said loudly, the first one to enter and his arms outstretched, presenting Keldeo as if he was some sort of circus attraction. Hoodwink slowly turned round, peeling his concentration away from his workers progress to his band of mercenaries. Nidoqueen was behind Krookodile, pulling Keldeo along. The little horse himself was flanked on both sides by Beeheeyem and Chesnaught while Bisharp, Zayden and Scolipede brought up the rear, the first two slightly tense with each other.

'Is this..?' Hoodwink paused before clapping his hands together in delight. 'Oh this is wonderful! I was told that I'd get my moneys worth out of the best mercenaries in the desert and you've proved that so right! You guys are terrific!'

'Um...Happy to be of service?' Nidoqueen said, taken aback by Hoodwink's flamboyant actions.

'You should be.' Hoodwink wagged his finger and winked, the charming intention completely backfiring by Nidoqueen's expression. 'You have all done very well. Trust me when I say this, you're all going to be rewarded handsomely.'

'Can I... get paid now?' Beeheeyem asked loudly. At this statement, there was a peculiar silence which Beeheeyem noticed, his many eyes flitting between his mercenary friends.

'...Paid?' Hoodwink tapped his fingers together slightly nervously. 'Well once we do testing then I'm sure I'll be stick these on the Shan'rala market in no time. Or is it actual money?'

'Cut the shit, Hoodwink.' Zayden stepped forward, his damaged eye glimmering. 'You know what we want. The entire desert shares our desires.'

'It does?' Hoodwink leaned back apprehensively. 'And what's that?'

Zayden looked at his teammates. It was clear that news had to be broken to Hoodwink and that he really wasn't as smart as he thought he was.

'Here's the thing.' Zayden knelt down and seized Keldeo by the chin, looking critically at him. 'There's been a simmering feeling brewing here in Shan'rala for a long time now. You noticed anything similar in the pokemon that live here?'

Hoodwink shrugged.

'They love money?'

'They are ostracized.' Zayden said, still holding Keldeo tight. 'Ever since the war ended, hundreds maybe even thousands of desert dwellers have taken their own life due to the perceived lack of reason for their existence. The tame missions that involve fighting one another for scraps have lead to a crisis where the glory days of war are sorely missed.'

'Okay?' Hoodwink coughed up a laugh. 'I don't see why this-'

'Remember what the reports said?' Bisharp intervened, his voice sending shivers down everyone's spine. 'The power that Keldeo exerted was enough to break through the protection barrier set up by the cacturne he fought. It's unlike anything seen before on Charom.'

Nidoqueen made a 'rolling' gesture with her hand, clearly egging Hoodwink on to see if he understood what was being said. He looked from left to right at all of them, his eyes almost shut tight in thought. Eventually, he shook his head again.

'Still not with you.'

'Yes you are.' Zayden snapped, swiping Keldeo's face away and standing up straight. 'You're just avoiding the answer because you know that it will put you in the spotlight, exposed to the authorities at long last.' Zayden stepped towards Hoodwink, dwarfing him in height. 'By using Keldeo's power inside your explosives, we now have a way of bringing the pokemon of Shan'rala back to life. By striking Rylus Mountain.'

Hoodwink froze where he was, his fingers and eyes twitching madly.

'Striking...Huh?'

'Rylus is protected by it's mystical dragon energy barrier.' Bisharp said, the rest of the mercenaries looking excited. 'If our testing goes right and Keldeo's power can pierce the shield then Shan'rala has the tools to ignite the war once again.'

'You can't be serious.' Hoodwink clapped his hands to his head, slicking his mohawk back with a trembling set of fingers. 'You can't! You realize how many deaths are going to be caused?'

'There are pokemon dying all over the desert as we speak.' Zayden said, clicking his pincers. 'I think I can speak for the lot of them when I say that we'd all rather die as heroes and warriors rather than pathetic sacks of shit wasting away while the rest of Charom sits back and watches from up high.'

Hoodwink was shaking his head back and forth, truly appalled at this revelation.

'The whole country will be torn apart.' Hoodwink shuddered, resting his hand on his table for balance. 'It'll be unstoppable. The dragons and the mercenaries are more powerful than any other pokemon on the land, King Volcarona won't be there to quell-'

'I remember you saying you didn't care what we did with these weapons?' Nidoqueen raised her eyebrow. 'Going back on your views Scrafty?'

'Only if I give you the weapons.' Hoodwink pointed a shaky finger at her. 'Now that I know you're gonna try and kill everyone on Charom with them, you'll have to-'

'I don't think you're in a position to negotiate here.' Bisharp hissed as he, Scolipede and Beeheeyem all marched closer, forcing Hoodwink against the window. 'We had a deal here.'

'These two!' Hoodwink cried out, gesturing madly at Bisharp and Nidoqeeun. 'They ain't strangers to trying to eradicate Charom! Clan of Shadows! They're monsters!'

'Oh I'm sensing a pattern here.' Nidoqueen crooned, forcing herself in between Bisharp and Scolipede, poor Keldeo being dragged along the floor. 'You don't give a shit who we are or what we do until it threatens your safe and secure existence making money from your gullible and trigger happy clients. You fucking reprobate.'

Hoodwink was pressed against the window, all of his work partners having turned on him. He gulped, sweating profusely, and his next words came out slowly and dripping with fear.

'If you've seen the things my weapons are capable of, lady,' he muttered, Nidoqueen right up in his face now. 'then you wouldn't be so keen to have them rolling across regional borders. I'm just a guy trying to make a buck-'

Nidoqueen punched forward, her claw fixing tight around Hoodwink's throat, the force causing the glass behind him to shatter. Hoodwink screamed in terror as his upper half keeled out the broken window, exposed to the fumes of his factory work, a vat of molten metal boiling below him.

'I am a hundred times the pokemon you are,' Nidoqueen growled, her grip vice like on Hoodwink's neck. 'and I am actually someone who would relish seeing your products being used to their full potential.'

'Nidoqueen...' Bisharp tried to pull her away but Nidoqueen resisted.

'Off me Bisharp!' she growled, her free arm extended in Bisharp's face. 'Maybe you should watch and learn here.'

With that, she pushed downwards, Hoodwink's entire body dipping and beginning to fall. Hoodwink screamed and shut his eyes only for Nidoqueen to extend her arm at the last possible moment, her grip now latched onto Hoodwink's ankle. The scrafty dangled helplessly from his office window, his workers all stopping to watch and the vat of molten steel bubbling horrifically about twenty feet below him.

'Don't let go.' Zayden murmured to Nidoqueen, who looked as if she would like nothing better than to relinquish. 'We need him.'

'I'm aware of that.' Nidoqueen replied, her teeth gritted. 'Wouldn't say no to a little bit of persuasion though.'

'Okay!' Hoodwink could be heard from below the window. 'Okay! I'll do it! We can start today! Just don't drop me! PLEEEASE!'

They could all hear the begging and panic in Hoodwink's voice and knew enough was enough. Scolipede and Krookodile sighed together, their dream of watching a pokemon fall into one of the hottest substances in the land all but gone.

'We're going to be with you at all times from now on!' Nidoqueen shouted, still holding Hoodwink at the same level. 'To make sure you don't try anything or run off.'

'I got it!' Hoodwink cried, blood rushing to his head and a faint feeling beginning to manifest. 'I'll do whatever you want! Just let me go!'

'Just what?' Nidoqueen said loudly with a sick smile.

'No don't do that!' Hoodwink yelped, clasping his hands to his eyes. 'I mean pull me up! I mean that!'

Nidoqueen cackled before finally hoisting her arm back up, the shell shocked Hoodwink being pulled back into his office, supported by Zayden and Scolipede. The guy was rattled and dizzy, his eyes streaming as oxygen returned to his blood flow. Keldeo meanwhile was shaking his head sadly, a single tear running down his face. His despair was a combination of the absolutely despicable Nidoqueen, the awful conditions of wherever he was, the unholy acts they wanted him to contribute to and how it was unlikely he'd ever see his friends again. _Yet still_ , he thought, looking up at Nidoqueen laughing and pointing at the clearly traumatized Hoodwink, _there was a ray of hope. A tiny one._ And if he wasn't mistaken, it might come in the form in the look of sheer disdain etched on Bisharp's face.


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Friends Of Keldeo

**Chapter Fourteen: Friends Of Keldeo**

'Ah.'

Lopunny frowned as she rummaged through her bag, her fingers caressing only a small amount of fruit, some solid, others squishy.

'What's up?' Scizor peered over her shoulder, trying to get a good look at what she was so dismayed at. Lopunny pulled apart the opening with both hands.

'Most of our berries are gone.' she said as Scizor detected only a handful inside. 'Please tell me there is a settlement nearby that can supply us with some?'

'Look around you.' Scizor stood up straight, allowing Lopunny to take in the sun blazed plains. 'Does it look like there are any berry trees nearby? You'll need to settle with what the desert offers you.'

'I'm not eating bug pokemon if that's what you're insinuating.' Lopunny pointed at Scizor sternly who laughed.

''It's either that or you starve.' Scizor said, managing not to wince as his chest flared up from his stretching.

'Shouldn't you be appalled at others doing this?' Lopunny said critically, slinging the bag over her shoulder and frowning. 'You're a bug type? Doesn't it bother you that folk see you as a delicacy?'

'Do I look like I'm in any danger from being eaten?' Scizor pointed at himself. 'Not a victim. Never will be.'

Lopunny was very much enjoying how relaxed and light-hearted her chats were with Scizor. He had seemed to handle himself extremely well since spilling his heart both physically and emotionally in front of Lopunny. His wound was healing up well and there was a genuine spring in his step that had not been seen on this journey yet. It didn't matter if it was because of his new found motivation to defeat Zayden and Bisharp, or cos Cobalion was challenging him as the new alpha male of the pack. Either way, Keldeo had been right. Finding a new motivation and purpose had helped Scizor a great deal.

'Did you say we're low on berries?' A low voice rumbled from behind them. Lopunny and Scizor turned to see the titanic frame of Terrakion approaching them, the others having stopped at a nearby watering hole for a wash under Primarina's orders and guidance.

'Afraid so.' Lopunny said glumly. Terrakion flushed.

'Sorry about that.' He nodded down at his huge body. 'Metabolism. I need to eat around ten berries in the morning, fifteen at lunch followed by a snack high in protein before...'

'Wait, shut up.' Scizor held out his claw. 'You ate all those berries in her bag?'

'Scizor honey it's okay.' Lopunny crooned, putting her hand on his arm.

'Hey it's his fault that you'll be trying roasted wurmple later.' Scizor turned his head to her as Terrakion shuffled his feet.

'Um...' Lopunny's mouth made strange movements as if she was figuring out what to say to this. She ended up changing the subject. 'So tell me about yourself, Terrakion!'

Terrakion tilted his head.

'What do you want to know?'

'Oh just...' Lopunny shrugged. 'About the Swords of Justice! Keldeo's only told me so much.'

'I see.' Terrakion managed to smile and the three of them began to slowly walk together, Terrakion in the middle and separating Scizor and Lopunny by a good several metres. 'Well, the Swords of Justice were formed out of the need to give light in the dark places.'

'You ever visited Excadrill's armpits?' mused Scizor.

'What does that mean?' Lopunny asked Terrakion, leaning forward so Scizor was still in her line of sight.

'The land we come from...' Terrakion sighed, a look of sadness appearing on his handsome face. '...Years ago we had very firm but very fair moral guidelines that helped the pokemon there grow and prosper into good citizens, full of courage, compassion and kindness. Through co-operation and empathy, we achieved so much while maintaining modesty in our lives. We would never do good for the promise of fame or fortune, we just did it out of the warmness in our hearts.'

'Admirable.' Lopunny beamed. 'I can see where Keldeo gets his knowledge from.'

'There's a 'but' to this story isn't there?' Scizor asked Terrakion, Lopunny's smile faltering. 'It went tits up so they had to bring you guys in?'

'You put it eloquently, Sir Scizor.' Terrakion said with faux-sincerity. 'But you are unfortunately correct.'

'So what did happen?' Scizor inquired.

'I'll tell you what happened.'

Terrakion, Lopunny and Scizor all looked to their left to see who had spoken. It was Cobalion, perched on higher ground, his solid metal body glinting in the sunlight. He carried himself in the same way that Scizor did, treading the fine line between confidence and arrogance. However, while Scizor's armor was dented and battle worn, Cobalion was shiny and strong, a few scratches here and there but for the most part intact.

'The land did indeed flourish and prosper,' Cobalion explained in a somber tone. 'but it wasn't enough for some. As the years went on, the guidelines that were set in stone were forgotten, mocked, treated as if it was some sort of way to control us and prevent us from seeking the best possible life. Many pokemon believe that the best can only come from evil and anything less than that is a sign of weakness.'

'Oh we have that over here.' Scizor shrugged, waving around at the desert. 'Not to brag but we've stopped that kind of shit from taking over Charom.'

Cobalion stepped down from his level to look at Scizor in the eye who kept walking, their stares unblinking.

'And who are the ones taking it upon themselves to rid the world of injustice?' Cobalion asked. 'Been on this land for several days now, so far I've seen no such evidence of any.'

'You're three months too late mate.' Scizor smirked, brushing past Cobalion in a more determined stride. 'There were pokemon who would bring about the justice needed when everyone else was scared to. I know this cos me and Lopunny were part of it.'

'What were they called-'

'The Shining Beacons.' Lopunny said loudly and proudly, puffing out her chest. Cobalion glanced over at her as Virizion, Excadrill, Durant and Primarina all caught up. He managed a faint grin.

'Well I am glad.' he nodded, surprisingly respectfully. 'It appears that nothing on Charom has impressed me. How many thieves, liars and brutes have we run into so far guys?' He looked at Terrakion and Virizion, his rhetorical question burning Scizor's blood and causing him to round on him.

'Okay, quick geography lesson.' Scizor hissed, sticking his arms out by his side. 'The place you've wandered into is called the Shan'rala Desert. It's a place where a lot of pretty rough pokemon thrive in. You wonder why? Cos years ago the bloodiest and most violent war ever seen on Charom was staged here. And what did the city pokemon and their holy and moral bullshit do? Stay in their homes and watch from above while generations were massacred. Trans-regional interference they called it. So don't lecture me about us not having the correct ways to go about our lives. You worry about yourself.'

That definitely seemed to shut Cobalion up for the time being. Scizor turned away, his march still strong and flicked his claw in a beckon motion to the others. Lopunny found a new spring in her step as she accompanied Scizor across the dusty plains while Cobalion strayed to the left, clearly impressed by Scizor's vigour. Behind them, Durant's eyes were crossed as he took soft bites out of the explosive shard he had picked up, trying hard to gauge where the familiar scent and tastes came from. Terrakion and Virizion were about to engage in conversation before Primarina forced herself in between the two, doing her very best to flap her fins on their backs as they walked.

'So!' she smiled brightly at the two boys. 'You guys ready to save another land to add to your considerable reportoire?'

As Durant struggled to comprehend where she thought of such long words, Terrakion blushed and tried his best to be polite.

'Well only if we work together I'm sure.' Terrakion smiled, too kind to tell Primarina she was invading his and Virizion's personal space. 'Us, the Swords of Justice and you, the...'

'Yeah we're the Shining Beacons.' Primarina said, Lopunny's ears pricking up. 'Not our first time saving the land you know? Beginning to make this a hobby! Ha! She let out a very obvious laugh. Lopunny turned round, her finger pointing straight at Primarina.

'Don't even begin to pretend.' she said sternly. 'You wouldn't survive a minute against the Clan of Shadows.'

'Lopunny likes her jokes.' Primarina tittered, trying to cover her lie.

'I believe you.' Virizion said, his smile causing Primarina's giggles to enter overdrive. 'I don't doubt a pokemon like yourself has the ability to overthrow any form of tyranny. I look forward to carrying on our work together.'

Lopunny glanced at Virizion, completely perplexed but saw his playful wink. She turned back round, tittering slightly at Primarina being played like this. Cobalion watched this with a faint smile, always entertained by Virizion's flirting antics.

'Can I help you?' Cobalion said, turning round and being confronted by a surprised Excadrill, who had popped out the sand in front of him.

'Oh!' Excadrill exclaimed, managing to grin brightly. 'That's odd! Usually everyone is surprised when I suddenly appear next to them.'

'You should phrase that better in future occasions.' Cobalion told him, not breaking his stride. 'It sounds like you make it a regular habit.'

'Not in a creepy way!' Excadrill insisted, now walking backwards to keep Cobalion focused on him. 'More like a...be prepared way!'

'I'll give you more time to work on it.' said Cobalion flatly, his path straight. Excadrill continued to shuffle backwards, his little feet moving much quicker to accommodate for Cobalion's large strides.

'So,' Excadrill said as Cobalion prepared for new found inquiries. 'What was that thing you were saying earlier?'

'What thing?'

'The thing you said about Charom.' Excadrill said, hopping over a jaggy stone. 'About it having a bleak future? That can't be right? I know everything around you seems a bit shit but there are pokemon all over the land that believe it's a paradise!'

Cobalion snorted.

'I'm not talking about this desert although believe me, there would be a lot to discuss here.' he said, the two of them now ahead of Scizor and Lopunny. 'I'm surprised you haven't figured out the problem yet. You seem fond of digging after all.'

'Oh for journalism and such I think you'd need their help.' Excadrill nodded at both Lopunny and Primarina, the latter still latched in between Terrakion and Virizion. 'Although I think only one of them is actually good at it.'

'I mean literally.' Cobalion sighed, flicking up some sand. 'You dig. You make tunnels.'

'Oh.' Excadrill flushed, his claws slowly cutting through some damp sand. 'Well I don't like to brag or anything-'

'Please don't...' Cobalion closed his eyes but Excadrill swerved the direction of his talk back to the focus.

'So you going to tell me?' he asked, Coblaion opening his eyes again. 'What it is that Charom has to fear seeing as I don't know?'

'Well there are legends and stories where I come from,' Cobalion began to tell him, Excadrill listening with intent. 'about the histories and futures of lands just like ours. One of them tells of Charom's greatest secret.'

'Which is?'

'It's said to be buried deep underground...' Cobalion said, and Excadrill felt a little shiver go down his spine. 'Something created long ago by an ancient engineer. It is said that the first beings that will awaken these powerful and terrible creatures will use their unimaginable power to ascend to the status of gods.'

'Oh...' Excadrill murmured, the tale intriguing him to no end. 'Do you know-'

'Everyone!'

Cobalion and Excadrill were interrupted by Durant, who had stopped where he was, the piece of chewed up explosive finally out of his mouth and resting on the ground. Scizor and Lopunny stopped at the front while Primarina finally ceased her relentless petting of Terrakion and Virizion to address Durant.

'What is it this time, Mister Durant?' Primarina sighed, her acting starting to tick off Terrakion and amuse Virizion even further. 'See he always has to point out something in the distance, bless him!'

'Shut your fucking face.' Durant barked, causing Primarina to turn bright red. 'Come see this.'

Everybody shuffled around Durant who was picking bits out from his pincers and teeth, the gnarled and torn chunk of bomb resting on the sand in the middle of them. Scizor folded his arms, looking back and forth at Durant and the piece appearing to be deep in thought. Lopunny meanwhile was apprehensively waiting, whatever was happening right now completely unknown to her.

'Um...' she raised her hand tentatively. 'What exactly is it that I'm supposed to be looking at-'

'Oh.' Scizor dropped his arms and stared at Durant, who nodded gravely. 'That's...insane.'

'Indeed.' Durant said. 'It makes sense though. Resources are limited out here.'

'What is it you guys are talking about?' Virizion asked. Scizor leaned down and picked up the small chunk, twirling it in his claws.

'Remember the amount of corpses buried in this desert?' Durant said to the crowd at large but mainly addressing Primarina.

'Yes..?' Primarina said slowly. Durant sighed as Scizor lowered the explosive piece with a morbid expression drenching his handsome face.

'Let's just say that ever since Hoodwink came into the picture,' Scizor said, chucking Primarina the piece which she caught. 'that there are a lot less of those bodies underground.'

Lopunny finally put two and two together, her eyes now widened to the size of actual tennis balls. Excadrill put his hands to his mouth and turned, making a heaving noise as if he was going to be sick. Primarina shared looks at the bomb, Durant, Scizor, the musketeers and back to what she was holding before everything came crystal clear to her.

'EEEK!' she squealed, frantically tossing away the bomb shard and rubbing her fins in the sand vigorously. 'That's...That's...'

'Pokemon organics.' Durant said, the remains falling before him. His expression seemed to perk up. 'On the bright side, it means I can use entrainment on it.'

'Oh...Come on man.' Lopunny groaned, looking away as Durant curled his whole body over what turned out to be compressed pokemon corpses. The way he contorted his insect body was just freaky looking to everyone there.

'So wait, hang on.' Cobalion said, drawing the much desired attention to him. 'You're saying that there's a guy in this desert who creates weapons of mass destruction using the remains of long dead pokemon?'

'Ehhh...' Lopunny leaned over sheepishly. 'It's a good boogeyman story for the grandkids right?'

Her attempt to be jovial did not sit well with Cobalion. He turned away in sheer contempt.

'I expect nothing from this place,' he spat. 'and I'm still disgusted. Viz! Terra!' he called to his companions. 'We should make haste. If this is what they do to the dead then Arceus shudders to think what they do to the living.'

'Wait just a minute!' Lopunny called out, alarmed at Virizion and Terrakion, who had actually stood up to Cobalion's rushed and radical jumps to action, follow his suit. 'I know that this news is startling to everyone but nothing has changed really! We don't have leads, we need to do more investigating.'

'Where's the nearest settlement?' Cobalion said in a demanding tone to Excadrill who began to think hard. 'Tell me!'

'I can't...' Excadrill screwed his face up, his brain whirring. 'I can't tell you where off the top of my mouth. You'll need to follow me! My trail!'

'So be it.' Cobalion said. 'Everyone bare in mind that we are not friends or even allies on this journey. We have a common goal but apart from that, nothing else.'

Scizor and Lopunny looked at each other. They knew this was going to be difficult.

'Cobalion, calm down.' Lopunny tried to appease him. 'Look I'm as appalled as you are but we need to maintain our composure.'

'Trust me when I get going, Keldeo's captors are going to need Arceus himself to stop me from destroying them.'

'So is that what you're going to do then!?' shouted Scizor angrily. 'Just walk in to wherever Zayden has taken him and kill all those responsible for this.'

'We don't kill.' Terrakion said, him and Virizion showing more calm than their leader. 'Smash. Pulverise. Administer pain within an inch of their life but never kill.'

'That's hot.' said Primarina.

'Shut up.' snapped Scizor.

'There's worse thing to bring upon a pokemon than death.' said Cobalion sternly. 'For some, the act of living brings more hopelessness than the death of others.'

'As much as you may want to bring this pain to them,' said Scizor. 'I ask you to leave my brother to me. He's my responsibility.'

'Says who?' Cobalion asked sharply. Scizor blinked and actually stammered.

'Says who...What the fuck?' he stared at Cobalion incredulously. _Does this guy have any clue whatsoever?_

'Just because he is your brother does not make you the one to cater to his consequence.' Cobalion's long winded explanation was draining Scizor of his patience and his will to live. 'If we see him in a location where you are not, then we will take him down. If we delay in the hope you'd bring justice that would only give him reign to spread more evil.'

Scizor did not say anything. His mind was too rattled to formulate a rebuttal not only due to tiredness but also because he recognized Cobalion had a point. He was not about to let his emotions get in the way of the purpose.

'Excadrill.' Virizion decided to defuse the tension in the group and looked at the muddy mole. 'Do your thing.'

'Okay...' Excadrill said wearily before beginning his downward digging. Everyone apart from Primarina watched him as she was busy observing Virizion in the hope she'd take his attention away. Once embedded in the ground, Excadrill paused for a few seconds before digging north, the others following the steadily distorting earth beneath them.

'How exactly is he doing that?' Terrakion asked curiously.

'I mean...You just...' Lopunny awkwardly mimed a breaststroke in thin air.

'No not the digging.' Terrakion laughed. 'Know where he's going? How can he navigate down there?'

'Something to do with a network of tunnels.' Lopunny said. She reached up to scratch her head. 'It must have been set in place a long time ago...OW!'

Her hand fell from her head, her teeth clenched. Terrakion and Scizor, being the only ones yet to begin following Excadrill, turned round in alarm.

'Are you okay?' asked Scizor, approaching Lopunny. She nodded.

'It's just...' she looked at her finger. 'I felt a burn.'

'Let me see.' Scizor held her long ears up to examine her head. His eyes widened. 'Fuck! Lopunny when were you going to tell me about this sunburn?'

'I forgot!' Lopunny said sincerely. 'With everything that has happened, I legit ignored this. Can you blame me?' She wiped her hand on the sand and turned around, leaving Scizor and Terrakion hanging. 'It doesn't matter. Let's go.'

'Wait.'

Scizor unraveled Lopunny's cloak which had acted as his bandage for the last day. He winced as it slowly peeled off his wound, which had dried in and turned a horrible black colour. Scizor held it aloft, presenting it to Lopunny.

'Wear it.' he told her as she slowly took it from his grip. 'It'll act as a barrier. Won't fully protect you but it'll do the job for now.'

'Thanks.' Lopunny wiped Scizor's crusty blood flakes off her cloak before slinging it round her neck, then turning and dashing after the crew.

'That's a nasty wound you got there.' Terrakion nodded at the grotesque hole in Scizor's body. 'You sure about exposing it like that?'

'Don't have a choice do I?' said Scizor, still watching Lopunny adjusting her hood. 'I can defend this spot against enemies but there's only so much she can do against the sun.'

'Give her credit!' Terrakion laughed, beginning his walk. 'Not being aware of it until just there? The lady shows some fighting spirit! She doesn't know when to stop.'

'Yeah.' said Scizor before glancing down at his ravaged body, knowing that if he wanted to stop what he worst feared, there would be a fair amount of pain along the way. 'That's the part I'm afraid of.'

* * *

Keldeo's hind legs had become stiff and sore. This was due to the build up of lactic acid that had coarsed into his body from remaining still against the wall of his cell for what seemed like hours. The muzzle on his head had not come off since it had been fastened on, his speech restricted and his breath coming out half-strangled. He hadn't dared to move. All he could think of were the wicked sounds emanating from this warehouse; the screeching of buzzsaws, the cries of pain as yet another accident befell the poor pokemon exploited by Hoodwink to craft his deadly weapons. Keldeo's face was slumped against the ground, his optimism ticking away with every passing minute. Every once in a while, a pokemon would walk past, maybe chancing a good look and guffaw at Keldeo as he lay sprawled over the dingy ground. _I could try a sacred sword_ , Keldeo thought. _It would easily break me out of this cell. Only problem is I don't know who will reach me first._ He shuddered at the thought of Nidoqueen standing outside the room, waiting for the right moment to pounce. Keldeo closed his eyes tight, the only thing he could do was try and drown out the constant drilling and sawing. _I'm never going to see my friends again_ , he thought, his once sparkling eyes beginning to water. Cobalion, Terrakion and Virizion. _And Lady Lopunny..._

CLANG!

The cell door shuddered and rattled open. Keldeo quickly stood to his feet, shaking the tears away and cringing in discomfort as his legs ached. A tall figure stepped in front of him, causing Keldeo's initial advance to stop in it's tracks.

'You're needed.' said Bisharp in his cold, monotonous voice. Keldeo gulped. Bisharp grabbed the chain connected to the muzzle and yanked hard, causing Keldeo to slide towards him without much resistance from the little unicorn. Bisharp proceeded to guide Keldeo along a corridor outside his cell, one he was not familiar with. Through large windows at the side, Keldeo could see the pokemon below all hard at work, more often dodging potential hazards such as fire caused by the weapon manufacturing.

'Bish...' Keldeo began before remembering his decorum. 'Uh...Sir Bisharp?'

Bisharp ignored him.

'Sir Bisharp, you seem like a gifted warrior.' continued Keldeo, forcing his voice out to be heard from inside the muzzle. 'Where did your receive your training?'

'Shut up. We're not friends.' said Bisharp sternly without looking. Keldeo sighed.

'I can tell you don't want to do this.' Keldeo murmured, turning a corridor, the windows disappearing. 'I can see it on your face. No point hiding it.'

Still, Bisharp said nothing. Keldeo was scanning with intent at what expression Bisharp had on his face. It was impossible to read. _Time to push the button then._

'You do not approve of your allies. In particular, Nidoqueen. Is that correct?'

Ever so subtly, the brisk pace Bisharp was walking at slowed down. Keldeo watched as Bisharp lowered his head slightly, certain he was now aware of his change in demeanor.

'You possess an honor code that she ignores?' Keldeo pressed for more, wanting to give and receive as much information as possible.

'You're here for one thing.' Bisharp said curtly. 'You provide no use to us other than that so keep your mouth shut.'

 _I've irked him. This is going well._

'You can't afford to threaten me.' Keldeo said defiantly, searching for the courage that Cobalion had taught him was so important. 'I'm too valuable to your gang of terrorists.'

Bisharp stopped where he was and turned, dropping to his knees in front of Keldeo. Right in between them, he unsheathed one of his many blades, it's tip reaching Keldeo's face.

'That doesn't mean I can't extract your energy right here and now and make the job easier for everyone.' he said, twirling the knife in one hand.

'Do it then.' Keldeo said, challenging Bisharp to call his bluff. 'Become everything you hate. Become like Nidoqueen.'

Bisharp smirked.

'You'd be correct in saying that prolonged torture has landed me in hot water.' he said, putting his blade back. 'I have much more honor than Nidoqueen. You're lucky it was me sent to take you instead of her.'

'Exactly why you need to hear me out.' Keldeo said, his voice strangled by the yanking of the chain as he and Bisharp continued their stride. 'Despite what I have heard and seen, I can detect a sense of moral goodness in you. You do what you do not because you enjoy it but you feel it's the only way to survive.'

'I do what I do because I'm good at it.' Bisharp said with clenched teeth.

'But you hate every minute of it.' said Keldeo. 'I can tell a lot of things have been taken from you Sir Bisharp but it's not too late for redemption.'

'We're past that stage.' said Bisharp, although Keldeo did notice some haste to the way he spoke. 'Now be quiet.'

They had reached the end of the line. A door leading to an outside area of Hoodwink's factory stood in front of Keldeo and Bisharp, which opened wide as they took a step towards it. Keldeo's eyes were absolutely blinded by the sun after being in the darkness for so long. Screwing his face up tight, Keldeo let himself get subjugated to some violent tussles as hands seized him around the body, head, legs, anything in order to get him moved around. Voices were shrieking in his ear, making the whole thing seem like some horrific hazing ceremony. Once Keldeo was finally able to adjust to the sunlight, he could make out the scenario in front of him. About twenty metres away, Zayden, Nidoqueen and a nervous looking Hoodwink stood next to a large, royal blue chunk of rock positioned in an upright position on the sand. They all seemed to be wearing safety hats and on their other side was a table holding a vast amount of equipment. Every piece sent Keldeo's heart racing from rocket launchers to syringes. Holding Keldeo in place were Krookodile and Chestnaught, as well as a dozen mercenaries hired by Hoodwink gathered around including Beeheeyem, Scolipede and of course, Bisharp.

'He's here.' Nidoqueen rubbed her hands together with glee. 'Let's do this then.'

As Nidoqueen hurried over to grab her equipment, Keldeo shot a look behind him at Bisharp. Their eyes actually met instantly and Keldeo tried to send him a message through his facial expressions alone. _Come on...Come on..!_

'I'm glad you showed up Keldeo.' Zayden said, causing Keldeo to turn his head away from his message projection which Bisharp had unfortunately ignored. 'But I hate to break it to you. This process...It's gonna hurt. Like a lot.'

'Wha...What!?' Keldeo spluttered, his captors grip tightening. His heart was hammering against his rib cage, the beating intensifying as he saw Nidoqueen approaching him with a syringe the size of his horn. Keldeo shrieked as Krookodile and Chesnaught pinned him forcefully on to the dusty ground, the sand engulfing Keldeo's eyes and blinding him for the second time in a minute. Beeheeyem was on hand to use his psychic power to guide Nidoqueen in targeting the parts of Keldeo's body where his sacred sword energy flowed. Zayden smiled at the brutal extraction taking place before him before looking upwards and noticing Bisharp's glower. He frowned.

'Is something the matter?'

Bisharp shook his head. Zayden let out a quiet tut. Even I have the ability to lighten up now and again.

'Stay still! I haven't done this before!' Nidoqueen's sick declaration only lead to more thrashing from Keldeo, prompting Scolipede to assist with the holding down. Nidoqueen grabbed hold of one of Keldeo's legs and with a prompt from Beeheeyem, stuck the needle directly into it. Keldeo's screams went from panicked to bloodcurdling. A few of the mercenaries crowding around even winced at the process. It was taking the combined efforts of Scolipede, Krookodile and Chesnaught to keep Keldeo immobilized as his cries echoed throughout the field.

'You keep struggling then it'll get worse!' Nidoqueen told him, as blue smoke engulfed the inside of the syringe. Keldeo's screams of pain were causing Hoodwink to cover his ears tight and were reverberating inside Bisharp's mind, reminding him horribly of an attack he performed years ago on a young kirlia...

'Alright! That's enough!' Bisharp roared, advancing towards the extraction. 'The syringe is half full. Stop it there!'

With an awful zipping sound, Nidoqueen yanked the syringe out of Keldeo's leg, his crying stopping and his thrashing halting but instead leaving him a whimpering mess on the ground. The three who were pinning Keldeo down slowly moved upwards, every head in the field turning to Bisharp, who stood his ground despite the look of annoyed disappointment from Nidoqueen and incredulousness from Zayden.

'Just...Put it in the weapon and let's see what happens.' Bisharp said, seeming exhausted.'

'Well...Alright then!' Zayden said with some spunk. 'Hoodwink, explain what is going on. What that is.' He pointed over at the massive piece of blue rock, causing Hoodwink to jump slightly.

'Me?'

'Yeah.' Zayden nodded. Hoodwink seemed to be waiting for a prompt but Zayden and Nidoqueen had already gotten to work diverting the energy from the needle into a capsule inside one of the explosives on the table.

'Uh...Okay. Hi. You all know who I am. I hope. Would be quite weird if you didn't.' Hoodwink laughed weakly at his mercenaries. It received no acclaim. 'Anyway, what we are gathered here for today is pretty important. This here,' He gestured at the structure. 'is a chunk of rock found near Rylus Mountain. As we all know, every attack we ever landed on Rylus ended with nothing due to whatever dragon infused power protects it. Until now.'

Hoodwink flapped his hand with limited enthusiasm to his right at Zayden, who approached the crowd holding an explosive mine. Keldeo had finally ceased his agony stricken moans, his eyes finally opening up albeit with some difficulty.

'This is it everyone.' Zayden held up the mine, the central button in the middle changed from red to blue. 'This could be the key to salvation. Let's see if this works.'

'And for your sake,' Krookodile growled nastily into Keldeo's ear. 'let's hope it goes off wonderfully.'

Everyone watched as Zayden fixed the mine on the top of the Rylus rock and Nidoqueen gifted earmuffs to the observers. Poor Keldeo was excluded from the hand out. Bisharp was the last to receive one, his hand clasping over the object tightly. There was resistance applied as Nidoqueen stared hard at him, seemingly challenging him to be as aggressive as he had been when telling her to cease injecting Keldeo. Eventually, Bisharp wrenched the last pair of earmuffs from her grip, causing Nidoqueen to snort slightly and turn round to face Zayden.

'Everyone step back.' Hoodwink nervously ushered his mercenaries to the door, Krookodile dragging the weak Keldeo. 'This is a low level explosive so it shouldn't be too destructive but safety first am I right?'

'Ask your employees.' Nidoqueen cackled, with guffaws echoing after the joke. It was clear that Hoodwink had been turned into a joke by his own workers. Zayden stood at the front, his left claw holding the trigger, his right hand hovering above it and almost shaking with nerves.

'Please let this work.' he murmured, pushing down on the button.

BOOM!

The explosion caused everyone to duck, clutching their ear muffs over their head. Keldeo shouted in distress once more, the loud noise ripping into his ear drums like a flamethrower attack. Dust flew into their faces, leading them to shut their eyes and turn away. When the sand eventually ceased it's attack on the mercenaries' senses, they slowly peered up. This included Keldeo, who had been through the worst five minutes of his life just there. He opened his weak eyes, the buzzing in his ears distracting him from making any sense of his surroundings. Zayden wafted his arm, allowing a visual clearence to be set in front of them, their eyes falling upon the chunks of blue debris littering the ground.

'It...It worked!'

Zayden punched the air and roared in triumph. There were ecstatic yells and almost tribal like chants of victory. Krookodile and Chesnaught almost hugged before changing it into a shake of the hands, either due to Chesnaught's spiky body or social pressure. Even the silent Beeheeyem managed some faint yet inaudible noises of what seemed like joy.

'Oh yeah!' Scolipede whooped. 'It's time! It's finally time!'

'Wow.' Nidoqueen folded her arms and grinned, nudging Bisharp on the shoulder which irked him. 'The way they're celebrating...I find it quite remarkable.'

Again, Bisharp said nothing. He observed the celebrations, knowing Nidoqueen's point. Finally, the Shan'rala pokemon could strike Rylus with their new weapon. For many, a new reason to live had come calling.

'We have it now my friends!' Zayden shouted loudly, the white of his damaged eye gleaming in the sun. 'Our ultimate weapon! Charom will know what we are capable of now. Make no mistake about it, once we raze Rylus to the ground then nothing in Charom will stand in our way.'

The cheers continued. Zayden held his arms up and nodded sycophantically as if he was taking credit for the production of this new weapon.

'Hoodwink. Keldeo.' Zayden said, causing Hoodwink to spring to attention after shuffling his feet anxiously for what seemed like an eternity. 'Let's get to work. Start building new explosives at once.'

'Y...Yeah.' Hoodwink said, his hands running through his mohawk. Keldeo was forcibly picked up again by Krookodile with the other mercenaries too busy either still celebrating or spitting on the blue debris. Keldeo, too despondent to resist, managed a look back over his shoulder at Bisharp who immediately called out to them.

'Not too much.'

'We decide on that.' said Zayden, leading the manufacturing party away to a nearby warehouse. Chesnaught turned to Scolipede, a glint in his eye.

'Word needs to spread.' he said excitedly as Scolipede oozed with anticipation. 'Let settlements south from here know. They'll be as happy as anyone.'

Chesnaught and Scolipede quickly darted from the scene. When they had gone, Nidoqueen rounded on Bisharp.

'What did that mean?'

'I guess those two will be rallying the warriors of Shan'rala to-'

'Not that!' scowled Nidoqueen, pointing over her shoulder. 'The plea to not go too far on Keldeo. Is that you going soft again?'

'It meant that if Keldeo suffers too much from the extraction then it could mean consequences.' explained Bisharp. 'For him and for them.'

'Oh I get it.' sniggered Nidoqueen. 'Bringing back uncomfortable memories I see? Not fond of the whole torture thing anymore-'

'If you say another word.' hissed Bisharp dangerously, drawing himself up to his full height. 'Then I'll cut your throat and leave you for the scavengers.'

Nidoqueen instantly reached down and seized Bisharp by the damaged rib cage. He wanted to retaliate but the pain was too much to endure without clutching Nidoqueen's arms. Bisharp buckled, his feet digging into the ground.

'Urk! Graah!'

'You can try.' Nidoqueen growled before releasing the sticking out metal spikes. 'Wouldn't be fair on either of us to be a hindrance when we're so close you know?'

She drew her arm back and turned away, with Bisharp attempting to shake himself off for his moment of perceived weakness.

'The time has come, Bish.' Nidoqueen called over to him as she walked to the warehouse. 'When Rylus is hit then trans-regional peace will be shattered. The regions will come running to aid but will be picked off one by one. The land will finally be mine.'

'Yours?'

Nidoqueen paused and turned, looking at Bisharp who's expression had changed from pained to genuinely inquisitive.

'Ours.' Nidoqueen corrected herself. 'I meant ours.'

'No you didn't. That's okay though.' said Bisharp. 'It was never my intention to take over Charom.'

'Yeah well...Wait what!?' Nidoqueen was startled, fully twisting and approaching Bisharp again. The nearby mercenaries were too busy enthusiastically discussing their first plan of attack with their new toys to notice the conversation. 'This is what we wanted Bisharp! To finish what we started. Where the Clan of Shadows failed, we can succeed.'

'I didn't want to rule anything with the Clan of Shadows, Nidoqueen.' said Bisharp, his arm guarding his vulnerable area. 'I wanted the distortion world in order to free myself of the grief and pain I feel everyday.'

'Then what do you want from this upcoming war then?' said Nidoqueen in frustration. 'What was your secret intention then? What you hide from me all this time?'

Bisharp paused, contemplating telling her or leaving her blank.

'Our faces are on wanted posters all over Charom.' he murmured, Nidoqueen leaning in. 'Shan'rala is the only place I can go and it's the least safe place on the land. With this skirmish taking the attention of Charom's leaders it will finally elevate this weight from my shoulders. Then I'll be free to leave this cursed land forever.'

Nidoqueen was speechless. Bisharp's plan made so much sense though she couldn't help but resent this. How she thought they had a common goal, how she finally thought she wasn't alone in this pursuit of power. It all turned out to be for nothing.'

'Well...Each to their own.' she shrugged and turned back round, marching over to check on the extraction process. Although he couldn't see it, Bisharp was certain that the expression on Nidoqueen's face was that of sheer venom. He pressed his arm against his injury once more. _All eyes open_ , he thought, taking in his surroundings. _Trust no one and don't let your guard down. One more error and it's the end._

* * *

 **Authors Note**

Hello all. Yes It's been at least nine months but I'm back with a new chapter. Many apologies for abandoning you all with no real warning, my personal life and educational career caught up with me and I needed to prioritize that above everything else. Luckily, Summer has rolled around over here so i can start writing to my hearts content. I plan on finishing Desert Blade in the next month or so before getting a chunk of Redemption complete, which I am immensely looking forward to. Who knows? Maybe I'll get more done that I thought! If anything comes up that halts me from my writing progress I will be sure to let you know this time.

The pleasure entertaining you all is absolutely wonderful. Couldn't ask for more. Much love x


	16. Chapter Fifteen: The Rally

**Chapter Fifteen: The Rally**

The sandstorm that had hit that night was the worst one yet. With no sanctuary in sight, the only option that the Keldeo rescue party had was a strategic sleep behind the biggest rocks they could find. Unfortunately, nothing they found was larger than Terrakion so the poor musketeer was used as a barricade for Lopunny, Primarina and Virizion. This choice did not faze Primarina one bit due to her proximity to Terrakion and Virizion but during the morning after, Lopunny was not a happy bunny.

'I think I've gone deaf.' said Lopunny, wincing as Scizor pinched her long ears and flapped them about to empty them of sand. 'I can't tell if I even slept at all. I'm pretty sure I did though because I had a weird dream.'

'Yeah?' Scizor said as sand poured out from deep inside. 'What about?'

'Just some weird looking pokemon prancing about in the dark.' Lopunny explained. 'It was a male I think. Hard to tell. Singing some weird song.'

'It was definitely a dream.' said Virizion very quickly. Scizor and Lopunny looked at him. Virizion flushed and shrugged his shoulders. 'I mean it's got to be! What kind of pokemon would sing and look for skin enhancements in that weather?'

'I never said anything about skin enhancements?' Lopunny raised her eyebrow.

'Oh...' Virizion shuffled his pointed feet in the sand awkwardly before changing the subject. 'Any sign of a settlement?'

'Just half a mile that way.' Excadrill pointed north, his voice muffled as his head was buried in the sand, his claws flinging berries out from underneath. 'Conducted a raid on it last night to get food. It's quite a large village so we should be as discrete as possible.'

Terrakion was moving faster than anyone thought possible to gobble up the berries being discharged from the hole. The genocide of fruit taking place at the moment was leaving very little left for the others to snack on. Cobalion approached the group along with Durant and Primarina, who was looking more content than she had been the whole journey.

'Slept like a log.' she said proudly, beaming wide.

'That explains the bleary eyes.' Scizor said, gesturing at Primarina's face.

'It's been a long week.' said Primarina, shaking her head wryly.

'It's been four days.' Lopunny said.

'Lead the way, Excadrill.' Cobalion intervened loudly. 'Enough time wasting.'

Excadrill nodded, diving under the sand once again and carving a path for the others to follow. Their movement was rather sluggish due to tiredness and for the non desert dwellers, the sheer ache in their bodies after being pounded all night by persistent chunks of grit. Lopunny gave her body an extra shake to get the worst of the sand off and rubbed her eyes in the bright sun.

'Must be hard for the hippowdons in Shan'rala.' she said, blinking rapidly. 'Causing a sandstorm everywhere they go. Can't be the best at making friends.'

'That wasn't caused by a hippowdon.' scowled Durant behind her. 'If it was then you wouldn't be talking right now.'

Lopunny shuddered. Durant managed a little laugh to himself as the rest of the group walked ahead with Cobalion leading the charge on the surface.

'Durant.'

He turned his head to the right to see Scizor walk next to him, his expression serious.

'What?' asked Durant, pausing along with Scizor and allowing the others to trot ahead. 'Okay you know that's not true, the hippowdows are massive bitches. I was doing it to scare the rabbit.'

'Alright can you stop-' Scizor caught himself in his defense of Lopunny, knowing that Durant was never going to change for anyone. 'You said you had something to teach me.'

'Ah yeah.' Durant appeared to remember. 'Yes I do.'

'Okay.' said Scizor, glancing ahead to make sure they weren't falling too far behind. 'What is it?'

Durant paused for a moment, his eyes measuring Scizor from his battle worn head to the healing wound on his chest.

'At the settlement.' Durant grunted before turning away. 'You'll see.'

Scizor sighed and let his head fall back, looking straight up at the sky. There was not a cloud up there, it was as nice a morning as he could have hoped for under the circumstances. Scizor looked back down to realize that Durant had pretty much scuttled back with the crew almost immediately with remarkable speed for a pokemon his age. Scizor yelped.

'Wait for me!' he shouted, his powerful legs churning up dust as he sprinted after his friends en route to their destination.

* * *

The settlement Excadrill had lead them to comprised of a circular area of stalls and markets, mostly selling broken or malfunctioning junk. There was what seemed to be a disgruntled married gligar couple trying to coax folk in to buying their products to no avail. No surprise really, seeing as their main exhibit seemed to be a mouldy fishing rod.

'Has anyone ever told them that there's no point to having a fishing rod in this desert?' Lopunny asked incredulously, observing the two gligars begin another spat with each other.

'Nope.' Durant guffawed, joining her by her side. 'Much funnier that way.'

Lopunny looked over her shoulder, thinking hard about what could be done about the three Swords of Justice here. Their unique appearances made them stick out like a sore thumb. It was even more obvious that they did not belong there more than it was obvious to the likes of Lopunny and Primarina, who was trying to engage in conversation with Virizion about anything she could think of. Annoyingly, Virizion was reciprocating.

'That's so disgusting.' Virizion had his mouth wide open. 'They power their vehicles with excrement?'

'I know right.' Primarina shook her head, feigning dismay. 'Just a completely different culture. Shouldn't be frowned upon though, I've been trying to raise awareness for the plight of the Shan'rala pokemon for ages.'

'That's very admirable of you. I respect that.' Virizion smiled.

'Ages?' Excadrill joined in the conversation, staring at Primarina with an irritated expression. 'You only found out about this a few days ago. All you could do when you found out was talking about how gross it was.'

Primarina's mouth was quivering as she looked back and forth at Excadrill and Virizion, thinking of what to say. Her situation was saved somewhat at Virizion being called over to talk to Cobalion and Terrakion about their plan of action. When he was out of earshot, she grabbed Excadrill by the back of the head and pulled his ear, with a surprising amount of strength, to her mouth.

'Could you please not try to embarrass me for one second?'

'The only one embarrassing you is yourself.' Excadrill remained calm in the face of her wrath. 'There's nothing wrong with telling the truth you know!'

'I'll have you know,' Primarina's voice went low here so only Excadrill could hear her. 'I'm not the most proud of the way I acted before. I don't see the problem in trying to make a new impression of myself?'

'By telling the most obvious of lies?' said Excadrill. 'Look, I'm glad you had a change of heart but please don't insult our intelligence.'

Primarina let go of Excadrill. He rubbed his neck, his face rather pink. Primarina looked down at her fin before yelping and flicking the dirt off it as if it was contaminated.

'I told you to wash.'

'Both of you be quiet.' Cobalion said loudly. Primarina and Excadrill ceased their argument to join the rest of the crew huddled just outside the settlement. Everyone was there apart from Scizor, who had positioned himself on top of a sand dune overseeing the inside of the village. His golden eyes focused intently on the goings on inside with the utmost intent.

'From here,' Cobalion nodded to the settlement. 'we will be able to pinpoint the location of this Hoodwink's hideout. Me, Virizion and Terrakion will not be engaging initially due to our appearance but if thundershock comes to thunderbolt, then we will be prepared to fight our way to the truth.'

'When we reach Hoodwink we better be really careful.' Excadrill warned them. 'The place he's hauled up in is extremely dangerous. He and his mates are armed to the teeth with explosives and firearms, some of which could destroy us all in one shot.'

Terrakion rolled his eyes, believing himself to be the exception.

'Even if we fight our way past Hoodwink and the others,' Virizion said cautiously. 'how can we be certain that Keldeo will be okay? Or even...'

He trailed off at the stern expression Cobalion shot him.

'Keldeo is stronger than you know.' Cobalion's statement seemed to be directed at Virizion and Terrakion more than anyone else. 'He will hold his own. I know he will.'

'You certain?' asked Primarina, kindness managing to seep through her voice.

'Yes.' said Cobalion and Lopunny at the same time. Everyone looked at the pair of them who in turn looked at each other. There was a pause then an understanding nod.

'I haven't known Keldeo for very long.' furthered Lopunny, addressing the group at large. 'However all I've seen is the very best a pokemon can be. A young pokemon like that wouldn't be willing to give himself up like that if he knew he wouldn't be able to put up a fight.'

'Took the words out my mouth.' Cobalion at long last managed a smile at Lopunny which she returned in kind.

'Give me a break.' Durant grumbled. There was then a shout from above them, causing all to look upwards at Scizor who was pointing ahead at the village, his face steely in more ways than one.

'I think this is going to be both a boost and a hindrance.' he yelled.

'What is?' asked Lopunny. Scizor leaned forward, scanning the distance.

'A lot of pokemon assembling in the village centre.' he explained. 'So many of them! It's like the whole north is-'

He broke off. There was a noise emanating from the settlement, what sounded like a banging of drums and barbaric chanting in a rhythm that sounded like a warcry. Lopunny did not recognize it but it sure made her apprehensive.

'What is that, Sir Scizor?' asked Terrakion. Scizor jumped down from the large dune with an explosion of dust, looking at Durant and Excadrill. His facial expression was something Lopunny had never seen before and it did not make for good reading. Whatever could make Scizor look so full of anguish and worry Lopunny would rather not know.

'Oh no...' Excadrill let out a shuddering sigh, his hand clasped over his heart.

'I haven't heard this in years.' Durant said, his voice like chopped wood.

'Scizor.' Lopunny touched his shoulder as gently as she could. 'What's going on?'

'It's the Shan'rala call.' Scizor said ominously, turning to face where the noise was coming from. 'Hearing it can only mean one thing.'

'War.' Durant finished. Cobalion exhaled a gust of air through his nostrils.

'Then we must stop it.' he pawed the ground. Beside him, Virizion and Terrakion braced themselves for a fight. Scizor shook his head.

'No no. Wait.' he held his arm out to stop them from advancing. 'It's not smart for you guys to enter when they're in such a bloodthirsty frenzy like this. You two as well.' he nodded at Lopunny and Primarina. 'You guys make yourself hidden. Me, Durant and Excadrill will try and blend in? Plan?'

'Plan.' Lopunny nodded vigorously, seconded by Primarina. Cobalion glanced a look at his two companions before acknowledging Scizor. Cobalion's next words seemed to come out forced and with a hint of resentment.

'You're the boss.' he said, causing Scizor to smirk ever so slightly above the dread he felt. 'Make haste though.'

'Oh that feels good.' Scizor said to himself as he beckoned Durant and Excadrill to come with him. The three desert dwellers scuttled off towards the rally quickly as the noises reached their most intense pitch yet. The others hesitated, a few wondering what to do from here. It took Lopunny and Cobalion to step forward and turn their heads towards each other, the same expression of steely determination on their face.

'You don't like it when he tells you what to do either?' Cobalion asked, his eyes glinting.

'Occasionally.' Lopunny shrugged her shoulders. 'But I'm not prepared to sit back now. Come on!'

With that, Lopunny and the gang all headed into the village, purpose embodying their every stride forward. The stall owners had all vacated their businesses with the exception of the married gligar couple who were too busy bickering with one another that they completely missed sight of the bulky Terrakion pluck a plate of berries from their shelf and devour them in one gulp.

'That's called stealing, Terra.' Virizion rolled his eyes as Terrakion crunched on the core of a Petaya berry.

'Would you rather I starved?' Terrakion raised his eyebrow as Primarina squeezed her way in between the two of them.

'Yes it's only been a few hours since your last feed.' Virizion tutted. 'I would hate to think that you would...Oh hello there.'

Virizion had trailed off at the sight of a passing female salazzle, appearing to make eye contact with him. Primarina appeared visibly annoyed at Virizion's distracted nature so she coughed loudly and almost bellowed her next words at Terrakion who jumped in fright.

'You know I can make a cracking berry pudding!' her voice cracked slightly. 'Did you know that? Given the chance? Did you?'

'Okay I believe you!' Terrakion looked slightly alarmed.

'You three, stay focused.' Cobalion hissed in front of them. He then muttered under his breath to Lopunny. 'Your friend is distracting my teammates constantly.'

'She isn't really my friend. And your teammates should be more focused.' Lopunny replied without taking a breath. Cobalion scrutinized her closely.

'Forgive me for sounding judgmental Lady Lopunny but I never thought a pokemon of your type would grow into a leadership role.' he said candidly.

'Well neither did I.' Lopunny admitted, hoisting her hood up further as they drove deeper into the village. 'I figured out a while ago that I can't be pathetic though. So i had no choice.'

'You'd say pathetic?' asked Cobalion, and Lopunny detected a level of sympathy in his voice here.

'Yeah I would.' Lopunny nodded. 'Is this something you can relate to...Keldeo?'

Cobalion looked closely into Lopunny's eyes and saw how sharp she was. How she could see the similarities between Cobalion and the little unicorn.

'I swore I would train that little guy into being the best he could be.' said Cobalion soulfully, watching the ground beneath him. 'I see this spark in him, the world is at his feet. I know the only one that can show him the light is me and anything less than my best will be my ultimate failure.' He looked back up at Lopunny, the understanding between them palpable. 'I fixed myself a long time ago. That gives one more of a right to help others.'

'I see.' Lopunny was about to press further but she was stopped in her tracks by a colossal roaring noise. They had reached the outskirts of the village centre to be greeted by a swarm of pokemon. Varied in type, small, large, young and old, they all had something in common. A ravenous excitement characterized by the Shan'rala call, it's sound magnified to the loudest possible pitch. Lopunny had to clap her hands over her ears for fear of damage to her senses. Through her screwed up eyes she could see, at the back of the crowd, Scizor, Durant and Excadrill, who had just turned round to notice her and the others. Excadrill tapped Scizor on the shoulder, alerting him to Lopunny's presence.

'Wha-' Scizor grimaced at Lopunny not obeying his orders. He shook his head. 'I'll deal with that later.' He turned back round, the three of them trying to keep a low profile for fear of being seen. The non Shan'rala natives hid behind one of the stalls, inches of their faces visible in order to observe the goings on within the crowd. There was suddenly a hush and the chant died down, albeit slowly. In the middle of the village, on a slightly raised podium, a pokemon stood upright. A familiar looking one as well. This prompted a large cheer from the desert dwellers.

'Well look who it is...' Scizor murmured, watching Chesnaught wave his arms as if he was conducting the whooping crowd.

'We should separate.' Excadrill said, his eyes slowly scanning the present company. 'I'll go underground. Durant, walk left and distance yourself.'

'Good idea.' nodded Scizor, knowing that seeing three pokemon Chesnaught had a run-in with the other day all together would be suspicious. Durant quickly shot down the path to the left while Excadrill swiftly burrowed below the sand. Scizor kept his head down, his eyes ever so quickly gleaming at Lopunny's hiding place before turning back as Chesnaught cleared his throat loudly.

'Friends! Warriors of Shan'rala, young and old alike!' he roared, his voice bouncing off the multiple buildings. 'Today marks a new beginning! For too long have we wandered this desert, pondering our destinies. We've been butchering our own brothers and sisters every day since the war, just in an effort to cope with post life struggles with no help from the outside.' He pointed a sharp finger to the east, clearly referencing Giruphin City, which was met by passionate boos from the crowd. 'No more though...' Chesnaught's voice became hoarse and more quiet as if he was charging in one devastating shout for the whole of Charom to hear. 'Shan'rala's saviors have devised an ultimate weapon. One that can ensure total destruction of Rylus Mountain and the dragons once and for all!' The massive shout came at last, met with an equally rambunctious reaction. Scizor turned his head to look at Lopunny, both mouthing the word 'Keldeo.'

'Fuck...' Cobalion gritted his teeth as Terrakion and Virizion bowed their heads in despair. 'I knew Keldeo's power was something else but this is on a massive scale.'

'And today is the day.' Chesnaught continued, his massive fists clenched tightly. 'Our new weapons will detonate in the next few hours, bringing Rylus Mountain to its knees. From there, our beautiful war will begin again. The dragons will fall by our hand and if anyone stands in our way, they'll be joining them as ash upon the earth! Make no mistake, we will be Charom's force to be reckoned with for generations to come!'

More roars and cheers projected from the riotous Shan'rala inhabitants and once again, they began their ominous war cry. Stamping, clapping, thumping, several of them slapped each other on the backs and faces to get psyched up for the day ahead. It was as if they were in the dressing room before a really violent and intense sporting event. During all this, Chesnaught could be seen stepping down from the podium, smiling and waving, looking pleased with himself.

'Thank you but I really must be going.' he nodded, appearing much more respectful than he actually was to a few pokemon wanting to talk to him. 'I have more places to be. The news will be spread.'

Scizor turned back round, Durant appearing by his side in a flash with a grave expression on his wizened face. Together, they marched back to the hiding spot where an irate Cobalion was waiting for them.

'This is what the good pokemon of Shan'rala do is it?' he seethed. 'Torture and use an innocent pokemon's energy for creating weapons of mass destruction?'

'Calm down fuckface.' Scizor snapped back. 'I'm thinking of a plan right now. We need to get to Rylus immediately.'

'Chesnaught must have a mode of transport.' said Lopunny, placing her hand on the stall wall and scanning the route Chesnaught was taking. 'Do you reckon we can steal it from him and get there?'

'Yes but it needs to be fast.' said Durant. When he said this, Excadrill eventually popped up from the earth, shaking sand from his head.

'He has a car.' he said, everyone coming round to listen to him. 'Problem is that there is only one of them. Won't be able to fit all of us in. Plus we won't know if Keldeo will be at Hoodwink's lair or at Rylus. And we need to both rescue him and stop the explosions simultaneously in order to avoid total war.'

'Only one pokemon to ask then.' Virizion said, eyeing Chesnaught as he disappeared from the crowd. 'And he's getting away. We can't afford to delay but also can't draw attention to ourselves.'

Scizor, Lopunny and Cobalion all looked at each other, their brains whirring for a solution. It was a tight situation. They knew that they needed info from Chesnaught but if both the explosives and Keldeo were separated from each other that made their job all the more difficult.

'I...' There was a nervous murmur from within the group. They all stopped their thought process to look at Primarina, who was bobbing from side to side anxiously. '...I think I have a plan.'

* * *

 _Another good job well done_ , thought Chesnaught as he stretched his arms across his burly chest and strode towards his parked vehicle, it's frame causing the light from the sun to split and shine around him. He checked his map, his finger following lines drawn out from before and leading him to an area to the eastern point in the distance. He sighed, knowing the thrashing that his fuel tank would take from this journey. Suddenly, the communicator attached to his car began to buzz. Chesnaught pressed on it and a familiar female voice began to speak.

'Chesnaught, that's me finished. There's another sandstorm brewing so I'm getting out of here quickly as I can.'

'Already?' Chesnaught exclaimed. 'Scolipede, you absolute maniac.'

'I may pass by yours to get away from this shit weather. You better make sure you don't miss the fireworks.' Scolipede said in an almost stern tone.

'I wouldn't miss it for the world.' Chesnaught replied, a dreamy smile on his face. Scolipede hung up with a clicking noise. Chesnaught was about to sling his leg over the dirt bike and rev the engine up before a voice distracted him from doing anything more.

'Hey there.'

The voice was again female and again non-diegetic, except it didn't sound as if it was coming from a communications device. Chesnaught looked around his area, seeing nothing.

'Uh hello?'

'Great speech back there.' the voice carried on, her voice raspy and pleasant to listen to unlike the constricted hisses of Scolipede. 'Shame you have to go but I guess the pokemon have to know.'

It was seductive. Chesnaught couldn't resist in sliding off his vehicle to listen to more.

'Well...' he scratched his head sheepishly. 'The car has room for one more I guess?'

'Oh that is such a lovely offer.' the unseen woman continued to croon, drawing Chesnaught in closer. 'I'm guessing when Rylus is...dust then you'll rise up as some sort of king?'

'I mean...' Chesnaught attempted to lean against a dead tree without looking but almost stumbled in his attempt. '...It has come across my mind I can't lie.'

'Well then,' the owner of the provocative voice finally stepped out the shadows and came into view of Chesnaught. 'I think your crown has slipped.'

'Wait I know you!' the startled Chesnaught squeaked at Primarina.

'Nab him!' she shouted, her voice cracking. Instantly, two holes burst from the ground underneath Chesnaught's feet. He yelled in pain as Excadrill and Durant seized hold of both his legs, dragging him knee deep into the sand. Chesnaught grunted and aimed a Needle Arm downwards at Durant's head but a Metal Burst attack struck him quickly on the shoulder. This rendered his arm disabled immediately and Chesnaught let out another roar.

'Quiet!' Cobalion, who had used the steel type move, jumped in front of Chesnaught, with Scizor and Lopunny marching up either side of him. Primarina let out a sigh of relief as Virizion and Terrakion came up either side to her, this being their choice instead of hers this time.

'That was excellent, Lady Primarina!' exclaimed Terrakion happily. 'Worked a treat!'

'Very well done on the whole sexy voice thing.' smirked Virizion, nudging Primarina slyly and making her blush.

'Oh that wasn't an act...' Primarina quickly switched on the previous persona, her face turning redder. 'Trust me...this is my voice...' she began to cough and shook her head. 'No forget it. It's too sore on the throat.'

'You better start talking.'

Attention was drawn to Chesnaught, who was being interrogated by Cobalion. Their faces were inches close and Cobalion's expression was as enraged as it had ever been. Quickly, Terrakion and Virizion headed over each side to hold Chesnaught's arms apart with their mouths, making him immobilized completely.

'What are you talking about!?'

'Keldeo. I know you have him prisoner.' said Cobalion. 'You're going to tell us where he is right now.'

'And what's happening at Rylus.' said Lopunny, folding her arms. 'Think about what you're doing here! If you detonate those bombs then the whole of Charom will be affected, not just these two areas.'

'Oh you think?' snarled Chesnaught sarcastically. 'Wow Nidoqueen was right. You are as dumb as she said.'

'Do it.' Scizor held his arm up. All four of Chesnaught's limbs were twisted by the pokemon holding them, a bloodcurdling scream emitting from his mouth as a result.

'Everything you say that wastes our time will be met with a further twist.' said Scizor aggressively. 'Now answer the questions.'

Chesnaught stopped his screaming, his breathing hard and heavy. He gulped and sweated for a good few seconds before responding.

'The bombs go off in less than three hours.' he said with difficulty. 'The energy is inside explosive devices placed in strategic points in Rylus's crust.'

'You'll be noticed by the dragons surely?' said Lopunny. Chesnaught shook his head.

'Doesn't matter if they do see us.' he explained. 'Rylus Mountain has never taken damage from any attack. When it does, they'll be running scared having not seen anything like this before.'

Primarina darted round the crowd and leaped on top of Chesnaught's car, reaching down and turning on the ignition. The engine rumbled to life, several bangs and sparks emitting from the exhaust causing Primarina to jump and close over her ears.

'It sure is Shan'rala-made!' she cried out over the deafening noise.

'And Keldeo?' Cobalion demanded an answer. 'Are you bringing him to Rylus or keeping him at this Hoodwink's lair?'

'In order for weapon production to continue,' grunted Chesnaught, his eyes narrowing and becoming more evil looking. 'the source of the power needs to be kept safe and secure. Away from all conflict.'

'So he's at Hoodwink's?' Scizor asked. Chesnaught nodded. This caused both Scizor and Cobalion to curse under his breath.

'What do we do?' asked Scizor. 'Doesn't matter if we split into two parties or just one, we need to prioritize Rylus. The bombs go off in three hours and we're the only ones who can stop them!'

'But we're not leaving behind Keldeo!' Cobalion shouted at him. 'That's the mission of The Swords of Justice! To rescue our friend!'

'At the expense of thousands of others?' Scizor challenged him. 'If Rylus gets hit then war will re-emerge and trust me when I say this, that ain't what we want again.'

'Maybe there is no easy way about this.' admitted Cobalion, looking resigned to the worst. 'So be it. Me, Terrakion and Virizion will take Hoodwink's hideout. The battle of Rylus will be your own.'

'It's too late.' said Chesnaught. Scizor and Cobalion finished their stare off to face him. 'Even if you rescue Keldeo, the damage will have been done. Charom will descend into chaos and the pokemon of Shan'rala will be better for it.'

'There is a way.' said Lopunny stoically. She walked round to the front of the car and ripped off the communicator attached to the car. She came round to Cobalion's side and held the communicator to Chesnaught's mouth.

'Call Hoodwink.' she ordered him, Scizor watching in amazement. 'Tell him we're coming for Keldeo and you better move him to Rylus immediately.'

 _Oh Lopunny you are unreal_ , thought Scizor, biting down on his tongue.

'And you're sure Hoodwink will take the bait?' asked Cobalion.

'Oh yeah.' said Scizor confidently. 'The guy can't get enough of the money he makes from selling his weapons. He won't want his power source to go missing already.'

'Go on!' Lopunny activated the communicator and shook it in front of Chesnaught's face. He let out a slight stammer before wincing at Durant's twisting grip on his left leg.

'Uh...' he leaned closer to the communicator which crackled to life. Hoodwink's voice could be heard, appearing jumpy and impatient.

'No not there! There! Uh hello...Chesnaught? What is it!?'

'Uh hello Hoodwink.' Chesnaught started off. Lopunny made chopping motions with her free hand which everyone took to mean ''get to to the point". 'We have a situation.'

'Well make it quick!' said Hoodwink snappishly. 'We've just left en route for Rylus.'

'I heard from sources that a party is headed infiltrate the warehouse and steal Keldeo.'

There was a squawking sound.

'What!?' Hoodwink sounded totally aghast against the rushing wind he was obviously driving against. 'There is!? Oh no!

'Yeah I know.' Chesnaught was poked in the head by Cobalion to further embellish. 'Take Keldeo to Rylus. That way you can...' He trailed off, slowly glancing up at Lopunny for help. She nodded vigorously for him to hurry up. '...Plant more bombs?'

His voice ended on an upward pitch, causing everyone to let out a mini sigh. Thankfully, Hoodwink seemed to pay no attention.

'Okay good idea!' he said. 'I'll phone for three more vehicles. No make that four! And one will bring Keldeo along.'

Lopunny mouthed ''one will do'' at Chesnaught but the communicator shut off at that point. Hoodwink had hung up. The work was done.

'That worked out better than expected.' Lopunny held her head with her hands and let out a whistling sound.

'No honor among thieves huh?' Cobalion curled his lip at Chesnaught in disapproval.

'Right the only problem now is that.' Scizor pointed at Primarina's new vehicle. 'They can only can carry four meaning some may have to run it.'

'You guys are pretty fast underground aren't you?' Cobalion asked Durant and Excadrill, the latter popping his head out the turf to respond.

'Can travel at high speed sure but will be exhausted by the time we get there.' said Excadrill. 'I'll be of no use to you in the impending fight.'

'Okay look,' Scizor walked round to Primarina, still on top of the chugging engine. 'Primarina, you can go now. You've done your part. I can call a few buddies of mine to make sure you get out the desert safely.'

'I'm not going.' Primarina shook her head, startling Excadrill but impressing him nonetheless. 'I've come too far. I'm going to see it out. And I want to help.'

'You've done great so far. Honestly.' Scizor hoisted himself up the dirt bike to get closer to Primarina. 'But what we're going up against could be the fight of our lives. We're facing off with some of the fiercest warriors in Charom and time is not our ally. You're not cut out-'

'I'm fighting.' Primarina said sternly, locking her weight down on the seat and refusing to budge. 'If you won't call me Lucina then this should be my end of the deal.'

Lopunny stifled a laugh. Scizor looked away for a moment before, quick as lightning, clanging the seat next to Primarina hard with his claw, intending for the sudden movement and loud noise to scare her. She stayed perfectly still.

'Interesting.' said Scizor.

'Was that supposed to make me jump?' asked Primarina haughtily. 'It didn't work.'

'Evidently.' Scizor shrugged his shoulders and dropped back down. 'I know when I'm beaten.'

'No you don't?' Lopunny said bemused.

'You're right.' admitted Scizor. Then from behind them, a fairly distant trundling could be heard. Scizor and Lopunny turned, the latter shielding her eyes from the blinding midday sun. The revving noises were getting louder as if they were coming closer. Chesnaught gulped, something that Durant noticed.

'Oh ho ho!' he laughed, his menacing eyes fixed on the fretting grass type. 'You're in for it now, sandstick!'

Now the vehicle had approached them, skidding to a halt in view of everyone present. Having apparently not noticed any of them, Scolipede clambered down the hull using her many legs, her face buried deep in the map.

'Yo, Chesnaught!' she said, totally oblivious to her partners paralyzed state. 'Did you get that call from Hoodwink? Says some folk are about to strike his warehouse to try get Keldeo. I was gonna go straight to Rylus but my map is covered in sand so-'

Scolipede broke up the moment she looked up. Her face changed colours faster than a Kecleon changing it's type at the sight of the eight pokemon binding Chesnaught to a halt. It was comical. So comical that Scizor and Lopunny could not help but burst out laughing.

'No way!' Lopunny wheezed, holding on to Scizor's shoulder. 'That's too good!'

'Go..Go Cobalion.' Scizor spluttered, clutching his chest. 'You take it from here.'

Cobalion managed a smirk. Stepping forward and approaching the absolutely mortified Scolipede who's map had dropped from her mouth in sheer shock. He leaned in and all it took was a simple utterance.

'We're gonna need that car.'

* * *

'Pleasure doing business with you two!'

Excadrill performed a mocking bow and wrenched his legs out from being submerged in the earth. He was talking to two heads stuck in the sand belonging to Chesnaught and Scolipede having been humiliatingly buried there after ransacking both their vehicles. They glowered deeply, unable to move and completely ashamed that they had been outsmarted by a pokemon team that comprised of ''clumsy unicorns'', ''cloth-eared freaks'' and ''type traitors.'' These said pokemon were gathered around the cars, performing final preparations for what was ahead.

'I don't think I've had my mouth clamped around something for that long.' moaned Terrakion, stretching his mighty jaw.

'I have.' Virizion shrugged. Terrakion's eyes widened.

'You what?' he exclaimed. 'What could that possible have been?'

'Well remember that time after that party where I left you to go home with that pretty delphox lady?'

'Oh yeah.' Terrakion nodded smirking. 'That was a fair adventure that night.'

'Well she could do this crazy thing where she could-'

'Another time, Viz.' Cobalion interrupted Virizion's story and came between them.' 'Guy's I can't lie here. This might be one of our most dangerous quests ever. We're up against pokemon we know nothing about in terms of ferocity and skill as well as these weapons they possess which produce nothing but devastation. That won't stop us though. We remember what we fight for.'

'Let's leave it all out there.' Virizion switched to a serious mode. 'Keldeo will be safe thanks to us but only if we become the unit we strive to always be.'

'That's right.' said Terrakion. 'They think Keldeo's energy they exploit is powerful? Well they haven't scraped the surface yet. Let's use Arceus's gifts and send them running.'

'For Keldeo.' Cobalion put his foot in the middle of their trio, followed swiftly by the other two. 'All for one.'

'And one for all!' exclaimed Virizion and Terrakion together. The buried head of Scolipede audibly tutted.

'Oh please.' she groaned to Chesnaught. 'That was such a joke - OW!'

Cobalion had fired another Metal Burst, catching Scolipede right in the forehead.

'Shut up.' said Cobalion crossly. 'Spent ages coming up with that phrase.'

Primarina was watching the Swords of Justice from the drivers seat, her head resting on her fin, surprisingly relaxed despite everything that was about to happen. To her right, Lopunny approached her, her hood lowered and her expression friendlier than it ever had been towards her.

'I just want to say,' Lopunny said, Primarina turning to look at her. 'good job. I understand that I wasn't always the fairest to you.'

'It's okay.' smiled Primarina. 'And likewise. It took me a while to get adjusted to all of this.'

'It's best not to always be getting under each others skin.' continued Lopunny, scratching her ear. 'Best to be partners.'

'Friends even?' Lopunny raised an eyebrow tentatively. Lopunny looked up at the sky.

'Well,' she said, her voice squeaking slightly. 'I mean friends tend to have things in common see.'

'We do. Journalism, adventures, getting into scrapes that we're not always prepared for...Handsome men?' Primarina added wryly.

'Okay no.' laughed Lopunny, this giggle echoed by Primarina. 'Forget everything I just said.'

Primarina continued her laughing, even when Excadrill suddenly popped up next to her, his steel claws banging against the metal of the car.

'Hey look! You didn't get a fright!' he said happily. 'It wasn't just a one-off!'

'Of course not!' said Primarina. 'Are you surprised?'

'No.' smiled Excadrill. 'I'm actually not.'

Lopunny grinned at the sweet sight of Excadrill and Primarina looking into each others eyes. They had come so far. Everyone had.

'How you feeling?' Lopunny asked Excadrill, who shrugged his wide shoulders.

'Pretty nervous. Think I could die here. The usual.' he said in a matter of fact tone. 'I'll do what I can though. For the pokemon of Charom, Rylus and Shan'rala alike. I don't have anything to lose so...'

'Yeah you do.' Primarina said defiantly, and to Excadrill's amazement, Primarina wrapped her clean fin over Excadrill's filthy claw without any prompting or even hesitation. Lopunny didn't know whether this was sweet or sickening. Meanwhile, Scizor was on one knee, making some final adjustments to fixing a slightly flat tire Scolipede's car had. He was just about to add the finishing touches when he heard a throaty cough behind him.

'Oh hello.' Scizor turned to see Durant. The sun shone on both of them, making the age difference palpable yet the scars of war so equal. The young and energetic Scizor and the old and wizened Durant carrying the lifelong injuries that would hold on them for the rest of their lives.

'That's a talent you have.' Durant nodded at the vehicle.

'Oh it's a working progress.' said Scizor, wiping the metal so it could shine. 'I have this friend, Electivire, who now does this for a living. I could eventually stop this mercenary business and could...'

His words faded away but Durant understood.

'There's a part of me that will regret what we are about to do.' admitted Durant, the statement causing Scizor to turn round fully. 'These pokemon have been waiting for a moment like this for a long time. A reason to live. It's unfortunate but battle is all some of these pokemon know.'

'Yeah you're right.' said Scizor, thinking of his brother and how hell bent he seemed to see this plan through to the end. 'But we need to put a stop to it. Otherwise the suffering will be felt by everyone else.'

'I know.' Durant said solemnly. Scizor put his tools down on the ground and stood up straight.

'I'm guessing it's too late for you to teach me the last lesson.'

Durant looked up, much quicker than Scizor expected.

'On the contrary,' said Durant, smiling slyly. 'you've been completing it all this time. Ever since I told you about it.'

'I have?' Scizor was stunned. 'How? What is it?'

'At no point,' Durant explained to him. 'since his death, have you showed any instance of becoming your father. When it seemed so likely. When it is easy for so many pokemon across this desert who have suffered and been through less than you, you have not been broken. And I am proud.'

Scizor was touched by this. His father had not crossed his mind in a while come to think of it. Nor his brother and the fact that it was him he would be facing up against very soon for the fate of the desert. All he was focused on was doing the right thing. And it felt so fulfilling. Like what Keldeo said, use these skills for a purpose. A good one.

'Yeah well,' Scizor said, a horrible thought creeping into his mind. 'my father truly was broken when a certain woman was taken away. That is yet to happen.'

Durant looked over his shoulder to where Scizor was looking. The sun had seemed to radiate around Lopunny at this very moment, beautifying every aspect of her. Her long ears flowed in the wind and her matted fur and wounds from battle had all but healed. Durant glanced back round and nodded understandingly.

'Then don't let it happen.' he said sagely. Scizor said nothing and continued to stare at Lopunny. His plans for what to do with her were still lost in confusion. He didn't want to be with her for fear of going through the pain and mental damage of losing her but he couldn't bring himself to face life without her. She was after all, the only pokemon who had loved him since his mother.

'We ready?'

Cobalion had approached Scizor, followed by his comrades. Lopunny, Primarina and Excadrill all joined them. Scizor looked around the team that had assembled purely by accident. He felt a warm touch on his pincer. It was Lopunny. They stared each other in the eye for what felt like forever. _I cannot lose her_ , Scizor said to himself. _Whatever it takes._

'Well,' Scizor looked up at his new friends. They were no Shining Beacons but they would do for now. 'what are we waiting for?'

'Time to save the land!' Lopunny exclaimed loudly, leading to whoops from Excadrill and Virizion. The squad split up quickly with four clambering into a car each, the heads of Scolipede and Chesnaught yelling abuse at them all. One of the vehicles sagged as Terrakion sat himself down in the backseat, leading to complaints from Durant.

'Again in our case.' Scizor nudged Lopunny as the small area had cleared. Lopunny smiled widely.

'We're getting too old for this business.' Lopunny smiled before reaching up and kissing Scizor, her hands clasped around his face.

'It's you that we're waiting for you soppy idiots!' Durant yelled from inside his vehicle. The two quickly broke apart, blushing and without hesitation separated. Lopunny jumped in a car with Primarina, Durant and Terrakion while Scizor hopped into the drivers seat in Excadrill, Cobalion and Virizion. Scizor and Lopunny gave each other one last glance and an appreciative nod before revving the engines.

'Don't crash it this time.' Lopunny said to Primarina, who responded with a guilty face.

'Is this how heavy you are when you haven't ate much!?' Durant scowled at Terrakion.

'Many apologies, Sir Durant.' rumbled Terrakion. On his car, Virizion laughed heartily.

'Tell you what, Terra!' he yelled over his vehicle beginning to move forward. 'If we get out of this, I will buy you your weight in berries!'

'I'm gonna hold you to that!' shouted Terrakion as his vehicle, driven by Primarina, began to follow the other one. Cobalion leaned forward, staring intently at the horizon below the blazing sun.

'Stay strong Keldeo. We're coming for you.'


	17. Chapter Sixteen: A Mountain To Climb

**Chapter Sixteen: A Mountain To Climb**

The foot of Rylus Mountain was the only part visible that was not shrouded in mist. From what they could see from the ground, the royal blue rock structures were twisting and turning in every direction, leading upwards and piercing the white clouds. At the bottom, a giant fissure split the earth, separating the mountain and the desert, the depths of the crack leading to depths that one could not imagine. It was quite a contrast; the mind boggling height of the mountain and the terrifying emptiness of the pit. The obscurity of what was above was not handy to the plan that Zayden had in mind so he decided to take matters into his own hands. He began flapping his wings rapidly, using the defog move he had not used in so long. The mist slowly began to disappear, swirling away and evaporating sadly into nothingness. He looked up, and all that he could see was the mighty frame of Rylus towering over him, seeming to stretch on until it touched the sky. Despite the feelings of animosity he felt towards the dragons, Zayden could not help but admire the sheer size of it all. He was so taken in by it's appearance that he did not notice the equally as intimidating pokemon coming up to him on either side.

'I haven't been here in years.' Bisharp said, also gazing up at the deep blue of the cliff. 'How high up does it go?'

'Nobody knows for sure. The highest I have ever went...I saw them.' Zayden turned his head to Bisharp almost wistfully. 'The sky shards.'

'The sky shards?' Bisharp's mouth opened in as relative astonishment. 'I thought they were just a myth?'

'I can assure you they are not.' Zayden smirked, looking back up and scanning a rocky structure in the middle of the mountain front. 'I couldn't believe it either. Made me wish I had both my eyes more than ever. Makes you really wonder if there are pokemon gods out there...'

'Oh get a grip you two.' Nidoqueen scorned them, stepping forward to get a better look. 'Sky shards. Pah! Load of fairy tale nonsense. My question is,' she scratched her chin. 'how do we get across that? I don't see many flying pokemon that are part of our crew.'

As if on command, Beeheeyem slowly glided over, holding a stick of dynamite that flickered with blue aura. Zayden pointed over at the central structure he had been looking at. It was shaped like a church spire, the crust of the rock semi-detached from the rest of the mountain.

'We're going to make a bridge.' Zayden gestured ahead, prompting Beeheeyem to float across the chasm, the blackness below looking like the depths of space. Nidoqueen gulped, trying not to look down. 'No dragon lives at this point of the mountain. It's too low. In order for it to make an impact we have to strike the settlements.'

'What's going to happen after that?' she asked. 'Who's going up?'

'You are.' Zayden said to her and Bisharp. 'Plant the explosives in equidistant areas of the Rylus crust. Possibly try a sky shard so the scattered debris will add to collateral damage. The bombs will go off in about forty minutes so make sure you get back down in enough time. Here.'

Zayden handed Nidoqueen a small map of Rylus Mountain with multiple red crosses drawn on it, indicating where the bombs were to be set. She and Bisharp read it through a few times while Zayden turned to the several vehicles parked around twenty metres away from him. Around ten pokemon were assisting in unpacking the boxes of weapons, guided by an apprehensive Hoodwink, every move monitored closely by Krookodile. Hoodwink had been on edge the entire time he had arrived. It was clear he did not want to be involved in this at all, how his products were being used to accelerate a new generation of warfare in Charom.

'Today will change the course of Charom forever.' Zayden said out loud, knowing Bisharp and Nidoqueen had finished reading. 'For the better.'

'We don't have to climb up far do we?' Nidoqueen was heard asking, rather anxiously.

'This is the nearest compound.' said Bisharp, pointing at the most central cross on the map. 'If we move quickly then I believe we can get back down with time to spare.'

'I'll be honest I'm pretty excited.' Nidoqueen cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders back. 'The chaos that will ensue. It's a situation primed for me. When Giruphin City eventually gets involved, I might have a crack at that Gallade. He needs taken down a peg or two.'

Bisharp said nothing, his hand unconsciously touching his chest wound at the mention of Gallade. He was prepared to do the opposite of Nidoqueen. The moment this was done, he was disappearing. No time for delay. It was time for Bisharp to make a new start.

VROOM!

All eyes were alerted to the noises of more vehicles approaching. Bisharp instantly unsheathed one of his blades but a hand was held out by Zayden.

'There...ours?' he said, walking closer as the four cars parked themselves alongside the others, drawing everyone's attention away from the unloading of explosives. They all watched as the passengers and drivers stepped out, a hitmonlee dragging another pokemon along via a chain attached to a horrific mouth muzzle. The sight of this made Zayden blink in astonishment.'

'What..? Why is he here!?' he shouted at Hoodwink as Keldeo was dragged to the middle of the detonation supply. 'I told you to keep him at base!'

Keldeo looked dreadful. His blue skin was pale, multiple cuts and patches of blood littered his body. One of his eyes was puffy and half closed, the other one was dulled to an extent where he looked comatose despite his moving legs. It was clear that the torturous extraction methods had taken its toll on poor Keldeo.

'Oh right..' said Hoodwink, approaching Zayden. 'I received a call off Chesnaught. There was word of a rescue attempt on Keldeo so we needed to evacuate him as soon as possible.'

'Aha?' Zayden raised his eyebrow. He thought for a second before releasing a snarl. 'And you realize which pokemon in this desert know we have him?'

'Umm...No?' Hoodwink said anxiously. 'As far as I know I haven't told outside sources we have Keldeo.'

Zayden's shoulders dropped, making him look much weaker. He glanced a look at Nidoqueen and Bisharp.

'Blaze...' he murmured lowly. Nidoqueen and Bisharp knew exactly what he meant.

'Let's not let that distract us.' said Nidoqueen, holding her hand out and beckoning to a pokemon nearby. 'The explosives. Give.'

Hoodwink's worker did as he was told. The bag was handed over to Nidoqueen and, despite the weight applied by the multiple bombs inside, she slung it over her shoulder no problem. An evil glint shone in her eye.

'What an honor this is.' said Nidoqueen. 'The first pokemon ever to successfully damage Rylus Mountain. History is ready for me.'

There was then a booming sound from the distance. The Shan'rala pokemon gathered before Rylus all looked up from their business at the sound of it, their eyes staring into the distance for whatever it was that caused that. Zayden focused everything on his working eye, detecting a shimmering blue light from far away, looking very similar to Keldeo's...

BOOM!

The vehicle beside him was struck by the sacred sword attack with a force greater than any of Hoodwink's rocket launchers. It flipped up in the air, sending pokemon screaming and running for cover before it crashed and rolled on to its back about ten metres away from everything else. Zayden had covered his face to avoid the dust thrown up while Hoodwink had dived to the floor, receiving a mouthful of sand. Keldeo however, had summoned more energy than he had in days and was channeling it all into hope and positive thoughts. It...It can't be!'

'Vehicles inbound!' shouted Bisharp, pointing ahead as the two huge quad bikes made themselves visible.

'Open fire on them!' screamed Zayden, prompting several henchmen to pick up several Keldeo-charged firearms and take aim. Zayden whipped round and gestured madly at Krookodile.

'Grab hold of Keldeo!' he ordered as Beeheeyem blasted a long range psybeam at one of the cars, missing by metres. 'Bring him to the back of the blockade and don't let him go! No matter what!'

Itching to join the fight, Krookodile grabbed Keldeo by the scruff of the neck and tossed him backwards towards Hitmonlee, who was taken by surprise.

'Put him to the back!' he yelled, grabbing a rocket launcher from his feet. He raised it to his eye and looked down the scope, targeting one of the cars closely. 'Closer you little bitch. Closer.' he murmured, his finger itching to pull the trigger. His leg beneath him was suddenly seized tightly with some sharp hands, the rocket fired going skyward as Krookodile lost control. He yelled out loud, looking down at the pokemon who had carved up the earth beneath him.

'You! Excadrill!'

'Oh so someone finally remembers me!?' Excadrill said. He then jumped upwards, striking Krookodile with a sharp slash and sending him falling to the ground. He whipped round, seeing Hitmonlee holding Keldeo tightly, whose eyes had sparked into life at the sight of him.

'Let go of him!' Excadrill shouted. There were barking noises behind him, making him turn his head to three or four mercenaries aiming their weapons straight at Excadrill's face.

'Oh shit.' his eyes widened, and he dived back under the earth. Under the crust, he could hear the muffled sound of them shouting and their footsteps. _Okay change of plan_ , he thought. Up above, Zayden was getting frustrated with his teams poor accuracy in hitting their enemies.

'What is the matter with you!?' he yelled, as Throh missed with his launcher yet again. 'They're two massive quad bikes moving in a straight line. How are you missing!?'

'Give me that.' Bisharp snatched the launcher from a disgruntled Throh's grip. He hoisted it up over his shoulder and in one smooth motion, fired off a powerful missile directly at one of the cars. It headed straight towards it's middle, causing the driver to swerve sharply. The whole vehicle flipped on to it's side, the passengers diving or falling out as it skidded along the ground, spraying a huge cloud of orange dust up in the air. Bisharp casually handed the launcher back to Throh, who took it slowly, feeling rather foolish.

'But you didn't hit them?' snorted Nidoqueen.

'Fantastic understanding of battle strategy, Nidoqueen.' said Bisharp, watching the others reign fire upon the other car as it changed course to check on its allies. 'They're scattered now. All the more ripe for the picking.'

* * *

'Arceus's sake, Primarina!' coughed Lopunny, her back to the upturned car and hearing projectiles zip past her ears. 'I haven't had much confidence in you as a driver so far you know that!?'

'Would you rather we got blown up!?' squealed Primarina next to her.

'Ah ya woman drivers are all the same!' grumbled Durant, who staggered to his feet after falling awkwardly out the car as it was turned. To their left, Terrakion was the only one actively engaging in the siege at the moment. His powerful stone edge attack managing to keep the assailants at bay, even causing the destruction of several of the weapons. The second car zoomed by, Scizor hanging off the edge of it and looking strained.

'Lopunny! Are you okay?'

'Yeah.' she got to her feet, shaking dust out of her fur. 'Yeah I'm good.'

'I'm fine to by the way.' said Primarina a tad scornfully. Excadrill then popped his head out the sand, his expression grim.

'What's the situation?' Cobalion asked as he and Virizion jumped out the vehicle, the latter shooting Magical Leaf down to the fray.

'They're holding Keldeo tight in the centre of all the explosives.' explained Excadrill. 'I couldn't get to him without them shooting at me. We may need to go straight through.'

'So be it.' said Cobalion with determination. 'We'll go through every one of them if need be.'

'Maybe if we strike quickly,' said Scizor, peering above the wreckage and ducking almost immediately to avoid a shell. 'then we can stop them from getting close to Rylus.'

'I think we'll be safe.' said Terrakion, moving his frame in front of Virizion so another projectile glanced off his broad back with a sad little ''poof''. 'A fast strike should stop-'

'CEASE FIRE!'

A deafening shout reverberated around the battlefield, managing to drown out the sound of cannon fire in the perimeter. All shots and blasts stopped right there, the only noises heard were the echoes of the destruction and the whirling of wind. Scizor and Lopunny glanced at each other before slowly edging into view of their opponents. About twenty metres ahead were Zayden, flanked by Bisharp and Nidoqueen. All three of them sent the thoughts of Lopunny and Scizor into a whirl but they knew what they had to do. Somehow they needed to defeat them. What ever it took.

'Blaze.' Zayden stepped forward, his arms reaching out to his brother. 'You have to listen to me.'

Hoodwink was still lying face forward in the ground, his hands jammed over his head. Bisharp nudged him with his foot, causing him to start and look up.

'I've heard everything, Zayden.' replied Scizor. 'You want war? You remember what it was like? Every day someone you knew perished. Lives were torn apart. We lost too much from it. You'd have to be insane to go back to the way things were.'

Zayden's brows furrowed. On his right, Nidoqueen was seen eyeing up Lopunny, a hungry expression on her face. Lopunny thought about looking away but she knew that would be a sign of weakness. Instead, she focused her unblinking gaze on Nidoqueen, knowing she could defeat her this time. Praying for the strength.

'It's all we have left!' shouted Zayden, flailing his arm in the direction of his comrades. 'You want us to suffer more? You want us to wander this wasteland, taking the lives of our own brothers and sisters we were fighting alongside just a few years ago? Although that means nothing to you though does it? You there becoming a blood traitor with the rabbit. You do nothing now but lick the boot of the enemy.'

'Zayden you don't need to do this.' said Scizor, his voice adopting a desperate tone. He threw his hand out ahead of him. 'Join me. What you've done in the desert is irrelevant, we can still work for the greater good! If you attack Rylus then you've breached trans-regional peace and then you'll be hunted down to no end.'

'That is where you're wrong, Scizor!' Nidoqueen shouted, still focused on Lopunny. 'Once united in this cause, the pokemon of Shan'rala will form the most powerful army in Charom. Everything will fall before it, starting with you.'

'You are no leader Nidoqueen.' said Lopunny, clenching her fists. 'You'll just be another thorn in the side of a force with greater leaders than you. Then that's the part you become resentful and just try to tear it down. I know you too well now.'

'Oh I'm going to enjoy tearing those ears from your head, Lopunny.' Nidoqueen snarled.

'Stand down.' Bisharp warned them, his calm voice a contrast to the rising anger of Nidoqueen. 'You don't stand a chance so if you turn back now you might just survive. I've never been beaten.'

'You've never faced me before that's why.' Cobalion had joined the verbal sparring, his posture upright and strong. Virizion, Terrakion, Excadrill, Durant and Primarina joined them, staring down the face of the enemy as one. Keldeo exhaled a deep breath of joy, seeing his friends united and ready to take on any threat. _They're here for me_ , he thought. _But more importantly, they're here for the greater good. To put their skills into a purpose. To benefit others._

'You've taken our friend from us. I will tell you now that was a very shitty idea.' Virizion said wryly.

'You don't mess with our little bro that's for sure.' Terrakion rumbled.

'Zayden. You're becoming like him.' Scizor said, advancing slowly and surely, trying to appease to his brother however he could. 'Like dad. All you see is the worst in things and you think the only option left is violence. It's not. Charom is so much more.'

'Charom has betrayed me!' Zayden shouted angrily. 'The dragons took everything from me! And my own brother has turned against me!' He pointed at his dead white eye. 'But don't worry, Blaze. I'll make sure we're even. Once Rylus is reduced to rubble I'll destroy everything precious to you, starting with her!' He pointed at Lopunny, which regressed Scizor from sympathetic to downright enraged.

'If you touch her then you'll need the whole of Shan'rala to protect you from me!'

'I have them in the palm of my hand. This is what they want.' said Zayden before shouting at the top of his lungs to Beeheeyem. 'Blow the fuse! Sow the seeds of war!'

'NO!'

The yell from Lopunny, Scizor and the others was quickly cut by a monumental explosion from their left. The dynamite spiral shaped rock had detonated, sending rubble to either side and causing the rock structure to slowly fall vertically. It descended over the chasm, the top of the rock dropping over to the side and planting itself deep in the ground. Hoodwink toppled over and yelled out in terror as dust flew in every direction. Terrakion was once again called upon to use his frame as a shield while Scizor covered Lopunny beneath his arm. A makeshift bridge had been created, access to Rylus Mountain was now available.

'It worked!' coughed Nidoqueen, waving away sand particles.

'Just as intended.' said Zayden hoarsely. He pushed Bisharp and Nidoqueen sharply with both arms. 'Now go! Climb the mountain and plant the explosives! We have twenty five minutes!'

Nidoqueen hoisted the bomb pack over her bag and together, she and Bisharp clambered on to the bridge, scuttling quick as lightning over to the other side. It wasn't the widest of bridges at all. If Nidoqueen was any bigger then she wouldn't have been able to get over.

'There...There!' Excadrill coughed, pointing to the bridge. 'Bisharp! Nidoqueen! They're going across!'

'How we going to get across that?' Primarina cried, looking ahead to see Hoodwink's mercenaries also clearing the airways and getting ready for battle. 'Oh no here they come!'

'Scizor! Lopunny!' Durant scuttled forward and beckoned at them both. 'Us three! We can make it across the bridge! The rest can't!'

'Urk!' Scizor scowled, glancing at Zayden who was hurrying to the blockade of vehicles along with Hoodwink. 'But Zayden! He's my priority!'

'Remember what I told you Scizor!' Cobalion shouted. 'Don't cater to his consequence! We'll deal with Zayden. We'll get Keldeo. You three, prioritize the explosives on the mountain.'

'...Okay!' Scizor knew Cobalion was right.

'Cover us!' Lopunny said to Terrakion and Virizion who nodded. The projectiles came their way thick and fast, countered by powerful water pulses from Primarina and magical leaves from Virizion. As they came to the bridge, Terrakion detached himself from the three.

'Now go!' he yelled, returning fire at the mercenaries in the form of sharp rocks. Durant went first, his small but fast legs quickly moving to the edge. He was closely followed by Scizor who had his claw locked round Lopunny's hand. They had reached halfway, all of their hearts beating like drums, being careful as possible not to look down at the black hole that was below.

'You don't need to hold me so tight, Scizor.' reassured Lopunny, her fingers caressing his pincer. Durant had reached the other side about five metres ahead of them. 'I'm fine. This is easy.'

Her voice made Scizor glance over his shoulder, just to take a look at her face. But it wasn't that that made his heart go into a frenzy.

'Shit!' Scizor hauled his entire arm directly forward, bringing Lopunny off her feet. He had flung her with all his strength straight to the other side as he caught sight of a huge rocket heading directly towards them. Lopunny smacked against the side of Rylus Mountain and dropped to the ground. Ignoring the pain she looked up quickly to see Scizor propel himself in the nick of time off the bridge and on to the very edge of the cliff, his feet secure by centimetres. The rocket hit the bridge and destroyed the stone, the pieces falling into the abyss. Returning the favor, Lopunny lunged forward with both arms and pulled Scizor over to safety just as he looked as if he was losing his balance. They fell forward on to the ground, their faces inches from each other. The deafening noise of the explosion nearby as well as the nearby battle noises causing their eardrums to suffer immensely.

'Hey.' Lopunny breathed as Scizor stared into her sparkling eyes. 'Nice move.'

'I had to...' Scizor said. 'Instinct you know?'

'Likewise.'

'I never taught you that.' They both looked up at Durant who was gawking at the two of them rather bemused. 'Now can you two stop performing mixed species fornicating. I'm not a fan. We have a job to do.'

'Yes. Sorry.' they both said sheepishly, getting quickly to their feet and brushing themselves off. Lopunny glanced to her right at the the spiral bridge that had just been blown apart. The remnants slowly crumbling and falling to places unknown. Her heart sank.

'How we going to get back?' she pined.

'Deal with that later.' said Scizor, cracking his back. 'Let's focus on stopping the bombs now.'

'There will be nearby dragon settlements on even surfaces.' said Durant, his legs climbing up the wall vertically without any trouble. 'That's where they will most likely be planted. I'll be able to smell them out though due to their built in pokemon organics so follow me.'

Lopunny looked directly up and her mouth dropped.

'It's like it goes on forever.' she said, gazing up at the misty heavens.

'We go high enough,' said Scizor, fitting his claw into a formation in the stone and looking for more. 'then we could see the sky shards.'

'The...sky shards?' gasped Lopunny. 'They're real?'

'No idea. Let's find out.' Scizor said enthusiastically, proceeding to climb the mountain. Lopunny hesitated before following, being careful to follow Scizor's movements and looking out for any sign of Nidoqueen or Bisharp.

* * *

'Ah!' Virizion screwed his face up tight as a number of golbats ambushed him from behind, swooping over his head and attempting to take bites out of his neck. 'Get them off! They'll ruin my face!'

'Hold still.' Terrakion slammed as his feet down as Virizion did just that. More sharp rocks pierced from the earth, striking the bat pokemon with sheer force and spinning them away from Virizion, who shook himself off.

'Thanks.' he said, firing his magical leaf ahead of him and disarming Krookodile. 'So much for the element of surprise.'

'We need to keep pressing but the rockets have us pinned!' grunted Cobalion, diving out the way of such weapon, fired by Hitmonlee. 'Excadrill we may need your digging! Excadrill?'

Cobalion twisted round, trying to see where Excadrill was. He couldn't be found anywhere. Maybe he's already doing it, thought Cobalion but his thoughts were drowned by a shell hitting the ground at his feet and catapulting him several metres back, smacking into Primarina hard.

'Ahhh!' Primarina seemed to tumble for quite a while, eventually crashing into the upturned vehicle she had flipped earlier. She shook her head, rather dazed. The explosions were a tad quieter and with a precise ear, she could hear raspy gasps and choking noises from behind. She quickly dusted herself off and headed round the side to see a shaking Excadrill, sat against the the bottom of the turned car with his arms tucked around his stomach and breathing hard.

'Excadrill!?' Primarina said, sliding next to him. 'What's wrong?'

'I...I can't.' Excadrill said with a shuddering sigh, looking Primarina in the eye. 'It's all too familiar...The sounds of war...I can't go back to it.'

'We have to do this!' squealed Primarina. her fins resting on Excadrills' shoulders. 'And together we can. I'm new to this, if you help me then I'll make sure you see this out to the end.'

'Primarina...I've lost too much.' groaned Excadrill, his dirty claws fitting around Primarina's fins. 'What more have I got to lose? I don't want to face this again.'

'There are pokemon that need you.' Primarina shook him. 'I need you. This is the debt I'm owing you for how far I've come. Now let's go. Let's show them the true nature of the Shan'rala pokemon!'

With that, she pulled Excadrill to his feet. He swayed, prompting her to balance him on his feet. He let out one last quavering breath and nodded his appreciation at Primarina, who smiled back.

'Yeah.' he said, looking ahead over the huge wheel at the battle. 'Let's do this.'

The two of them sprinted round the vehicle, Primarina firing off powerful moonblasts into the crowd of mercenaries and scattering them. A missile came their way but Excadrill flung out a powerful, razor sharp claw and sliced the shell clean in half as it fizzed through the air. He rolled over next to Cobalion who seemed to be impressed with that maneuver.

'Well praise Arceus, you're here.'

'Yeah well no point sitting on my ass.' said Excadrill, looking at Primarina with a smile. 'What's the move?'

'I suggested we just hide behind Terrakion as he moves forward and absorbs the majority of hits.' shouted Virizion, leaping through the air to dodge multiple rockets.

'It still hurts you know!' Terrakion shouted back, stamping on the ground and causing the earth beneath him to rupture upwards in an attempt to flip the vehicle.

'I can use the underground.' said Excadrill, looking ahead to the back of the blockade. 'Keldeo is the one that matters here. I can rescue him.'

'Better move fast.' said Cobalion, his keen eyes noticing Beeheeyem and Krookodile retreating back to the last car. 'I don't like how they're moving.'

Beeheeyem and Krookodile had moved quickly to Zayden and Hoodwink, the former holding Keldeo by the chain and the latter slumped against the vehicle. They were all disheveled and covered in black soot. Zayden's eyes were wild and darting towards the mountain over the edge until they focused on his two mercenary comrades.

'What are you doing?' asked Zayden angrily, his grip on the chain tightening.

'They're proving more troublesome than we initially thought.' said Krookodile, clutching his chest. 'Is there any way we can speed up the detonation time?'

'Well not from here!' Zayden glanced at Hoodwink for confirmation. The scrafty nodded, pushing himself slowly off the car door.

'The time limit is fixed when the bombs are planted.' he explained. 'The countdown could only change if it was hit with enough force that it disrupted the inner workings but whether it goes quicker or slower is entirely random-'

'Alright,' Krookodile cut across him, lowering his launcher. 'Maybe a change of tactic. We could take them on via our own pokemon moves rather than these flimsy weapons.'

'That would be a very bad idea, Sir Krookodile.' said Keldeo in a muffled voice. They all looked down at him, startled he had mustered the ability to talk. 'The Swords of Justice are the finest warriors I have ever had the fortune of meeting. You have no options here but to surrender.'

'Shut up!' Zayden smacked Keldeo across the face with a swift strike with his free claw. His head jerked to the side, a drop of blood falling to the ground but his determined expression still present.

'I think it's time we start considering alternate plans.' said Hoodwink gravely. 'Plans that don't involve then harm of my prize asset.'

'Such as...?' Beeheeyem wheezed. Hoodwink's eyes flitted from left to right in a rather shady fashion.

'I suggest we retreat now and take Keldeo with us.'

Zayden and Krookodile looked at each other upon hearing this idea, their expressions a mixture of surprise and anger.

'Abandon this...' Zayden slowly turned to face Hoodwink who stood his ground. 'I'm not surprised you'd come up with such a cowardly idea.'

'We can afford to!' exclaimed Hoodwink. 'The pokemon attacking us can't cross the chasm. It wouldn't make a difference if they were fighting us or weren't. The bombs will go off regardless.'

'My brother, the rabbit and the bug can stop that from happening.' growled Zayden. 'I'm not risking anything.'

'To hell with this!' Hoodwink shouted. 'This is my property! My inventions! I get to decide what is done with them and if this falls apart, I am not getting done for breaching trans-regional peace.'

'You don't exactly have a choice here, Scrafty.' said Krookodile, raising his launcher again and aiming it straight down Hoodwink's eyes. 'You're staying. End of story.'

Hoodwink let out a surprising laugh.

'No wonder you aren't doing anything with the weapons.' he sighed. 'You're using them wrong. That isn't the way they're supposed to be held.'

'It's not?' Krookodile flipped the gun upwards and examined it. 'Then how do you-'

CRACK!

With blinding speed, Hoodwink punched Krookodile straight in the snout and he toppled backwards into Beeheeyem, dropping the launcher to the ground. Hoodwink was quickest to it, snatching it up and aiming at Zayden, who raised his hands in the air slowly, his good eye emanating shock.

'Wh-What are you doing?' asked Zayden, his grip around Keldeo's chain slacking.

'Getting out of here.' Hoodwink nodded at Keldeo, the oversized launcher putting a strain on his muscles. 'Now hand over Keldeo before I blow the red of your body.'

Zayden hesitated before reaching forward, the chain available in his claw. Hoodwink swiped it from with haste and opened the vehicle door, pushing Keldo inside.

'How dare you..?' growled Zayden as Krookodile and Beeheeyem regained focus. 'We had a deal.'

'You're the mercenaries. I'm the contractor.' said Hoodwink, climbing into the driver seat with Keldeo alongside him. 'I make the job, you complete it, you get paid. Remember the desert law? It's no wonder you were always catching up to your brother.'

Zayden attempted a lunge forward but Hoodwink pinned him back with the aimed launcher, now held in one hand. They had a stalemate for a few more seconds as Hoodwink started the engine up, Keldeo slumped next to him and growing more weary to the sounds of battle raining around him. Hoodwink then turned to face the front, the launcher propped on his lap and facing Keldeo. He began to drive, churning up sand in the mercenaries faces. When it settled, Zayden lowered his arm and snarled.

'Beeheeyem. Chase him.' he ordered, pointing at the quickly moving car. 'Take out the wheels, kill the scrafty if you have to but make sure you take Keldeo. You and I,' he looked at Krookodile. 'we're gonna make these fuckers bleed.'

Beeheeyem shot off after Hoodwink's vehicle, hovering inches off the ground while Zayden and Krookodile stepped round the corner to engage in the fray. The Swords of Justice along with Primarina and Excadrill had done a decent job of battling the mercenaries with at least half of them rendered defeated and slumped on the ground. However, they were growing weary, their senses had taken a pounding with all the explosions and the accuracy and clinical nature of their fighting was wearing thin. Something had to give sooner or later.

'Ooft!' Primarina fell to the ground after a powerful kick from Hitmonlee. He came back for more but was felled by a powerful sacred sword attack from Virizion who had arrived just in time.

'Oh thank you!' she squeaked as Virizion offered his leg to help her up.

'My pleasure.' he nodded respectfully. 'It does me harm to see a lady in need and not able to lend a helping-'

'Keldeo!' Cobalion had brushed past Virizion, making him turn and Primarina to fall back on the floor. They could see Hoodwink's car moving fast along the desert plains, with Keldeo in the passenger seat, staring longingly at his friends.

'He's getting away!' shouted Cobalion. 'It's too fast! We'll never catch up in time!'

'You won't.' up stepped Excadrill, polishing his talons. 'But this it my type of mission.'

He leaped forward powerfully, assuming a diving position. Mud spurted out of the ground as Excadrill burrowed deep and shot off like a bullet after Hoodwink's car which itself was already being pursued by Beeheeyem. He fired a psybeam at it which caught the wing mirror on Hoodwink's side. He cursed and fumbled around under his seat for a spare explosive, finding one in the form of a grenade. He wrenched the key out with his teeth, the countdown beginning and tossed it behind him. Beeheeyem, so caught up with trying to hit Hoodwink did not notice and couldn't swerve in time, the grenade going off under his feet. He was sent spinning up about ten feet in the air before crashing to the ground with a thud, able to move no more.

'Darn it...' Keldeo whispered to himself. Although Beeheeyem had malicious intentions as well, Keldeo saw his barrage on the car as a means of distracting Hoodwink badly so he could try to make an escape. _Even if it did_ , thought Keldeo, _it wouldn't make a difference. My body is too weak. I've been beaten too badly_...

'The future is bright with us, Keldeo.' said Hoodwink, his launcher still aimed threateningly at him. 'With what you can give the world, you're going to make me one rich pokemon-'

CLANG!

The whole vehicle was battered by a deafening noise. Hoodwink winced and turned to his right to check what had hit them. Realizing that the wing mirror had been taken off by the earlier psybeam, Hoodwink was forced to turn his whole upper body to see the defiant pokemon whose claws were buried into the metal of the car, hanging on with every fiber of his being.

'Stop the car Hoodwink!' Excadrill shouted, his face screwed up to the rushing wind.

'Never!' Hoodwink threw the launcher over his shoulder and took aim at Excadrill's head.

'NO!' Keldeo lunged forward, his horn piercing Hoodwink's back. He roared in pain and tried to twist his body in an effort to throw Keldeo off. Excadrill attempted to raise his left claw, the wind resistance making it challenging to scale further up the car. A sudden bump in the ground beneath them caused Excadrill to drag backwards, ending up at the back of the car. He looked down to see the right rear wheel right beneath him, giving him an idea. He plunged his claw downwards, gritting his teeth as it tore through the tough tyre, the sensation feeling like his hand was being laid to waste with a jackhammer. Eventually, the wheel tore apart, causing the entire car to tip and veer off course. Hoodwink kicked Keldeo off him and tried to spin the wheel in time but he did it too violently and in desperation. The whole car flipped over another bump in the ground, Excadrill flying off the side and rolling for what seemed like miles. He looked up groggily to see the car crash on to it's roof, seeming to trap both inhabitants underneath all the metal. There was a spark, then a flicker of fire. And Excadrill's heart began to race harder than ever. It was going to explode. Quickly, Excadrill dashed over and crouched to look under the wreckage, his expert eyes detecting a defeated Keldeo.

'Keldeo!' he exclaimed, holding his arm out. 'Hold out your leg! I'll pull you out.'

Keldeo did so, extending his front leg with a grimace. Excadrill yanked hard on it but his progress was impeded by the pokemon holding onto Keldeo's hind legs for sheer life.

'No!' Hoodwink screamed, both his feet trapped under busted metal. 'He's mine! He's my property! You won't take this away from me!'

'Fuck off!' Excadrill cried, pulling Keldeo with all his might but his dirty hands falling off him. He needed to think fast otherwise the whole car was going to explode, killing all three of them.

'Is that all that motivates your life?' Keldeo said defiantly, struggling against Hoodwink's grip. 'Money? Is that all there is to it? There's nothing I can do for you there Sir Scrafty...'

'Oh there's a lot you can do for me.' said Hoodwink maniacally, his eyes bulging. 'We're going to rule this desert, you and I! Imagine the power! Imagine the gold! Imagine the-'

Hoodwink's monologue was cut short by a huge claw tearing into the metal above him and striking him straight downwards on the head. His grip loosened from Keldeo, who looked up and smiled brighter than ever.

'Come on!' Excadrill pulled Keldeo out from inside the wreckage, leaving Hoodwink scrambling helplessly on the ground. They sprinted off, Excadrill's arms covering Keldeo and heard a monumental explosion from right behind them, the force throwing them forwards several feet. Parts of the car embedded themselves in the sand next to both of them and a fire rose from the destruction. Keldeo and Excadrill looked up at the burning pile of scrap, knowing that Hoodwink was no more.

'Are you okay?' asked Excadrill, turning to Keldeo who sure didn't look it judging by his disheveled disposition. However, nothing could deny the raw smile he gave.

'Oh Sir Excadrill!' he hugged Excadrill tightly. 'I'm saved! All my friends came back for me! I couldn't be more grateful!'

'Appreciate it.' Excadrill struggled to his feet. 'It's far from over though. We need to take down Zayden and his goons too.'

'Where did Lady Lopunny go?'

'Up to Rylus Mountain.' Excadrill pointed up at the daunting frame in the sky. 'To stop the bombs. To stop Bisharp and Nidoqueen.'

Keldeo's ecstatic mood dropped at that moment. Lopunny was up there risking her life and he was powerless to do anything. The feelings of worry overwhelmed his being at that very moment but he tried to remain composed. He had faith in her. And Scizor. They could overcome any challenge that came their way.

* * *

'Here.'

Scizor took Lopunny's hand again and together they slowly made their way across a mossy and slippery rock leading to an upwards curve in the mountain. They were high up the mountain now, so much so that the battle below looked like a cluster of ants butting heads. Mist had started to settle, prompting Scizor and Lopunny to stick extra close to each other Durant was slightly ahead, sniffing for traces of the planted explosives. He suddenly stopped, his head bobbing up and down in a curious fashion. Scizor and Lopunny approached him from behind, apprehension growing.

'You found something?' asked Scizor as Lopunny's ears perked up.

'Here and above.' said Durant, peering straight ahead. 'Aha!'

Durant quickly approached a cylindrical object on the ground about five metres away, placed next to a dead end.

'An explosive!' said Scizor, following suit. Lopunny tapped him on the shoulder.

'Scizor-'

'One second.' Scizor knelt down next to Durant. 'So how we going to disarm it? Do you know how explosives work?'

'Not really.' said Durant, stepping over the bomb. 'But I do have entrainment.'

'Oh yeah!' exclaimed Scizor as Lopunny stepped on to a higher platform. 'Will removing these explosives of their pokemon organics stop them from working?'

'Should do.' said Durant, squirming in that freaky motion when performing entrainment, forcing Lopunny to avert her eyes. 'However this bomb says we have just twelve minutes left before detonation so we better move quick.'

'We'll go up ahead.' said Scizor, pointing upwards. 'Give you some privacy.'

Scizor and Lopunny helped each other up a number of rocks leading to an upward platform in the mountain. Lopunny was definitely not imagining it now. The noise she could hear was getting closer.

'Scizor I hear...' Lopunny's ear twitched in an effort to make out what was around her. '...Water running.'

'You do?' said Scizor, pushing himself up in to a pointed piece of stone facing outwards. '...Oh yeah!'

'But it's not coming from the mountain.' said Lopunny, also hauling herself up and looking around at the rock wall facing her. 'It's like it's coming from...the air.'

Scizor said nothing for a few seconds, his eyes staring ahead at the mist, his mouth slowly opening in sheer awe. Lopunny proceeded to press her head against the smooth stone wall of the mountain shaft, trying to isolate the noises.

'Lopunny.'

'It's so weird.' she said, crouching down. 'Hope it's not a trap laid out by Nidoqueen-'

'Lopunny, you'll want to see this.' Scizor interrupted her. Lopunny was about to tut loudly but then it hit her. The sound of water flowing seemed to be stemming from off the edge of the mountain, it's presence making it's way through the mist. Lopunny approached the edge next to Scizor to see what it was, and like him, she was in complete astonishment. A huge piece of rock, blue like the rest of Rylus but separated from the main crust was floating in the air, seemingly suspended by an invisible set of strings. It was covered in glossy green grass and as it turned, a waterfall was revealed. Beautiful, crystalline water was falling thick and fast into the mist from a hole in the crusted wall, descending into the mist and evaporating just as fast. It might have been the most extraordinary thing either of them had either seen.

'Is that...one of the sky shards?' Lopunny asked, absolutely transfixed.

'I believe so.' said Scizor, gazing in wonder at the slowly turning wonder. 'This is incredible. The legends are true. I'm just wondering where all the water is coming from.'

'Don't know...Precipitation?' Lopunny wondered, trying to reach out and touch it the sky shard as it came near. 'Does it matter? The mysteriousness of it makes it all the more beautiful.'

Lopunny and Scizor continued to stare in awe at the sky shard, knowing that above them there might be hundreds more just like it. The sheer magnificence of Rylus Moutain had grown so much just by the confirmation of the existence of these things. Lopunny and Scizor's hands instinctively reached for one another, taking in the moment and not aware of Durant clambering up to be level with them, making sniffing noises.

'You seeing this, Durant?' asked Lopunny, turning her head.

'Seeing and smelling.' Durant said, appearing disinterested at the majesty of the sky shard. 'The trace of the second bomb is nearby but I can't quite-'

'I found it.' said Scizor seriously, pointing ahead. They all looked to where this was, seeing the sky shard in a clockwise turning motion and a red cylinder embedded into it. An explosive device reading nine minutes left.

'Makes sense.' said Lopunny, scratching her chin. 'If that blows up it could rain debris all over the mountain, with many casualties

'How we going to get to that?' said Scizor, reaching out but realizing it was too far.

'I think you'll have to throw me.' said Durant. He looked up at the baffled expression from both of them. 'Oh come on, I'm not that heavy.'

Shrugging their shoulders simultaneously, Scizor and Lopunny attempted to lift Durant, the latter from the back and the former from the front. The sky shard was about five metres away, so their throw had to be as powerful and precise as possible. Lopunny held her breath as Scizor began a countdown from three. After he said one, they both lunged forward, propelling Durant into the side of the shard, his legs burying in and clinging on for dear life. Lopunny squeaked but managed to relax as Durant steadied himself, his sticky legs planted deep.

'Phew!' Lopunny sighed as Durant climbed upwards to deal with the explosive, now reading eight and a half minutes. 'For a second there I thought-'

Her ears pricked up once again, the noise she was hearing much more alarming and direct. Her instinct kicked in and she reached for Scizor's shoulder, pushing down with all her strength.

'DURANT LOOK OUT!' she screamed, her and Scizor hitting the ground with a thud as something whistled over their heads at a blinding speed. Durant looked up just in time, his body over the explosive and managed to move most of it out the way, barring one body part. The sharp blade pierced Durant's front right leg which was positioned on top of the explosive and went straight through into the metal casing. Sparks flew everywhere, the sounds of crackling electricity and Durant's roars of pain engulfed the surroundings. Knowing that time was short, Lopunny and Scizor sprang back to their feet and looked to where the flying knife had come from, only to be greeted with the worst sight possible.

'I told you to stand down.' Bisharp said from across the mountain, readying another blade. 'Do not interfere.'

Nidoqueen stood beside him, bomb bag in one of her hands and a hungry look on her face. Lopunny and Scizor looked at each other, fretting over Durant's grunts of pain and the enemies they faced. Bisharp scowled and flung another projectile in their direction. Scizor swiped with his arm, expertly parrying the attack and sending the weapon falling down the mountainside.

'We'll deal with them later.' hissed Bisharp. 'They'll be caught up in their current situation that the current bomb will take them.'

'They're right there! They're sitting duckletts!' Nidoqueen said to him.

'Concentrate on what is important. Let's plant these two and go.' Bisharp tugged her in the opposite direction. 'They are not our priority.'

Despite Nidoqueen's protests, she stormed after Bisharp with the bag of explosives and disappearing through the mist. Lopunny swore and kicked out at a stone, her adrenaline levels spiking so she didn't feel anything this time.

'Durant!' It was Scizor that was the panicked one this time. He turned to see his mentor struggling with the blade through his leg, the sky shard slowly floating in the opposite direction. 'Durant! Lopunny, get ready to throw me.'

'No!' Durant shook his head wildly at him, moving his body slightly and showing the timer to both of them. It made for horrific reading. Bisharp's attack had messed with the time setting on the bomb, reducing the countdown from eight minutes to less than one minute.

'Durant! Please! I'll save you!' Scizor pleaded. Durant shook his head.

'No. Go after them...I got this.' It took Durant energy to muster the words but he looked his apprentice dead in the eye. 'I can use my strength to divert this exploding rock away from the mountain. The debris might be able to help those on the ground.'

'You're not dying today!' Scizor shouted at him, his legs edging closer to the cliff end. 'Durant! You can't!'

'Take Lopunny! Go and get those two cunts!' Durant ordered him, the distance between him and Scizor growing. 'I have faith. You've done better than I ever expected. I believe in you. Both of you.'

'Please...' Scizor fell to his knees as Lopunny put her hands to her mouth. 'I can't lose you! You were always the real father figure I had! My actual dad! I owe you everything!'

'Then pay me back by doing this one last thing!' Durant turned his body to drag the sky shard further up the sky as the timer ticked below thirty seconds. His eyes fell on Lopunny, who was holding back tears. 'Look after that boy. He's a good kid. And so are you.' He managed to wryly smile. 'For a normal type.'

'I will.' Lopunny gripped Scizor tightly by the shoulder with both love and determination. 'Thank you Durant. For everything you've done.'

The clock ticked below twenty. Durant noticed this and pulled away even more. They were so far away no that he needed to shout to make his voice clear.

'Show them the true spirit of Shan'rala, Scizor!' he said, his eyes focusing on the scarlet bug before shutting tight at the impending detonation. 'Show them the best...you.'

Scizor slowly stood up, his whole body shaking. He couldn't stop what was going to happen. He was powerless to. The only thing he could do was watch...and follow the path laid out for him.

'I will.' he said, straightening up and getting ready for what was ahead. 'Whatever it takes.'

Durant smiled at the sound of this. The clock ticked to five seconds. Scizor managed one last look before pushing Lopunny down to shield her from flying debris. Durant peered with one of his eyes open at the two together so tightly and managed the smallest of chuckles.

'So...soppy.' he said softly. The clock on the bomb finally reached zero. It was as if the explosion was in mute to Scizor, as he looked over his arm at the light and smoke, combined with the pieces of rock plunging downward and clearing away the mist. The whole process felt like slow motion to him as he stood back up, holding Lopunny tightly with a quivering arm. As the last of the debris descended, they looked at each other with the same expression. An accepting focus.

'Are you okay?' asked Lopunny, rubbing him softly.

'...Yeah.' Scizor said with a shuddering breath. 'I am. He wouldn't want us wasting time over him.'

'Exactly.' said Lopunny, rolling her shoulders back and looking ahead to were their enemies went. 'Come on Scizor. Spirit of Shan'rala is shining bright in you. Now let's send it to them.'

'Lopunny.' Scizor held her back from taking another step. 'This could be it you know. For both of us.'

'...You're right.' Lopunny said, trying not to think of these consequences. 'It could be. And if it is, then I can't think of anyone else i'd rather die alongside.'

'You can't face Bisharp remember.' Scizor pulled her in close, his eyes streaming. 'Please. If you die here...I...I...'

He broke off, wiping his face before clamping his claws tightly together. Lopunny allowed him to gather himself before he looked back upwards, his eyes drying and taking on a burning characteristic. One that painted a picture of all out wrath.

'For Durant.'


	18. Chapter Seventeen:Battle Of Sky And Land

**Chapter Seventeen: Battles Of Sky And Land**

The silence inside the mist was more deafening than the roar of war down on the ground. The point of the mountain that Bisharp and Nidoqueen had arrived at was possibly the highest they could possibly go with both of them struggling to take in oxygen as well as they could. More exotic sky shards floated around them, some small, others large, all magnificent. Their destination was a craggy opening that lead down a path to a small village about a hundred metres away, guarded by sinister gargoyles shaped like monsters. The closest dragon settlement there was to the ground with many more just like it the higher the mountain got. As a sky shard floated over and cast a shadow on the scorched earth, the bag containing the last two explosives dropped to the ground with a clank from Nidoqueen's carelessness. Bisharp bent down on one knee, watching the flickering flames of the distant dragon village. They were so close now. His destiny was in his hands.

'Time is almost up.' said Nidoqueen, reading the time on the clock saying they had seven minutes left. 'Where should we plant them? I'm thinking one here and one outside the settlement.'

'...Could do.' said Bisharp. Nidoqueen looked at him.

'Is something the matter?'

'...No.' Bisharp stood up, having lifted both explosives. 'It's just...we've come so far. Now is the time.' He stared down at the bomb clutched in his razor hands. 'You better let me plant this near the settlement, seeing as I have a better chance of slipping around dragons unseen.'

'If you insist.' said Nidoqueen, her brows furrowing.

'Once planted, let's just make our way down as quickly as possible.' continued Bisharp, standing up straight. 'Time is not our ally here.'

'And that's why you'll lose.' said a voice from the other side of the ridge. Nidoqueen and Bisharp looked up at the startling shout to see two figures about fifteen metres away. They had scaled up to even ground to catch up with them and the fact that they had made Nidoqueen seethe with rage.

'You let them go...' she growled at Bisharp, her thick knuckles tightening at the sight of Lopunny and Scizor. '...And now they're here. You idiot, Bisharp. When we kill them, be fortunate I don't kill you too.'

'Then let's get rid of them quickly!' Bisharp replied hoarsely, stepping forward and raising his voice. 'One last stand against the inevitable? Brave but just...moronic!'

'We see it more as a rematch.' Lopunny said, her and Scizor walking forward. 'One that will end up in our favor once again.'

'Call it what you want, Lopunny.' said Nidoqueen, the two duos facing each other on top the blue mountain. 'You have no Gallade or Keldeo to save your skin. You're on your own, and now we'll all see how little you can do.'

Scizor's eyes were blazing with intent but his body was still. Composed even. He was channeling both vengeance and intelligence and balancing them out evenly. He was possibly the most dangerous he had ever been.

'My friend died.' he said loudly. 'My oldest friend died and it's because of you. Right now, that is not a safe place to stand.' He readied himself in a fighting pose as did Lopunny. 'The last remnants of the Clan of Shadows will die by my claw today.'

Bisharp hesitated before narrowing his eyes in a sinister fashion. With one hand he reached down quickly and planted one of the explosives in the ground, giving Nidoqueen a tap as he came back up, who in turn arched her back as if she was protecting her territory.

'You can't stop this.' said Bisharp, the second explosive held in his other hand. 'Kill us, kill Zayden or be slain where you stand here. It's irrelevant. The damage will be done.'

'You've learned nothing haven't you!? Both of you?' Lopunny shouted at them, her face and body language matching Scizor's. 'Killing! Bloodshed and war! What good has it done for you so far? None! You're both beyond the point of no return. It's our duty to make sure no one has to live in fear of meeting pokemon like you!'

At this statement, Bisharp hesitated, his eyes softening ever so slightly, which Lopunny noticed. It gave Nidoqueen a split second to advance forward, leaving Bisharp the only one guarding the bomb spot.

'You won't be able to see those pokemon live under my rule Lopunny.' she snarled, Lopunny's heart beating faster as she came closer rapidly. 'Hard to see anything when you're a mangled corpse splattered on the sight of this mountain-'

'Now!' Lopunny shouted, reaching to her left and grabbing Scizor by the shoulder. Scizor bent his knees and Lopunny sprang off his upper back in a horizontal motion just over Nidoqueen's head, too quick for her to react. Lopunny landed on all fours behind Nidoqueen before turning them to two, her hands pushing her body up and extending her legs in a powerful kick, bashing Nidoqueen in the back and causing her to hurtle forwards into Scizor. He finished the move by a massive swinging forearm that caught Nidoqueen under the chin, her back turning and landing with a thud on the ground. Despite the success, there was no time to celebrate as Scizor sprinted forward, pushing Lopunny back and quickly saying 'not Bisharp'.

'Fine okay.' she said, her fists clenching as Nidoqueen groaned. 'I'll do what I must.'

Nidoqueen rubbed her head and looked up, her distorted vision making out a brown blur coming quickly towards her and colliding full force into her upper body. The two rolled on the ground for several seconds before Lopunny scrambled off, assuming a crouched pose as Nidoqueen shook herself off, incandescent with rage.

'Alright then.' she hissed, circling Lopunny. 'I can play dirty too. You are so going to regret this!'

'The only thing I regret,' Lopunny braced herself as Nidoqueen charged at her. 'is not beating you earlier!'

Lopunny ducked underneath Nidoqueen's swinging arm and repeated the process as she came back for more. As Lopunny backed off, Nidoqueen tucked her elbow into her side, her arm turning more purple. Lopunny identified this as a poison job and was lucky to dodge the lightning quick punch forward, missing her by inches. However, Nidoqueen was persistent.

'You're a glass cannon, Lopunny!' she cackled, kicking a chunk of Rylus rock forward and sending Lopunny flying backwards. 'One precise hit and you'll break like the weakling you are!'

Meanwhile, Scizor had engaged Bisharp with a powerful leap, intending to plant his right leg into his face. Bisharp rolled out the way and dropped the yet to be used explosive, leaving Scizor to plant his kick into the ground and blowing dust upwards. Bisharp lunged with a deadly X-Scissor which was parried by Scizor and the two began their duel. Scizor was managing to keep up with Bisharp at a much more effective rate this time around, even catching up multiple times with counters of his own. This certainly seemed to irritate Bisharp a great deal.

'Just...give up!' snarled Bisharp, catching a punch from Scizor and twisting his arm upwards. 'You'll never stop the detonation.'

Scizor reacted by pulling himself forward, now inches from Bisharp. The two were engaged in a close quarters grapple, neither taking a backwards step.

'This is a gamble. Even for you.' hissed Scizor, pushing forward and jamming his arms into Bisharps' further. 'You can't guarantee the pokemon of Shan'rala will follow you. They'll turn on you just as easily.'

'Good thing that it's not my intention to lead!' Bisharp said. Scizor was about to reply but he saw the fight between Lopunny and Nidoqueen over his shoulder. Nidoqueen was gaining the upper hand, her blows becoming more accurate and powerful with Lopunny crashing to the ground at least three times in ten seconds. Scizor knew what needed to happen here to break the stalemate. Shutting his eyes tight, he sprang off off the ground and lunged forward, his iron head attack slamming into Bisharp's face.

CLANG!

Scizor backed off, his arms still coiled around his opponents. His forehead throbbing, he opened his eyes to see Bisharp, his expression unchanged and apparently feeling nothing from that attack. Instantly, Bisharp retaliated with his own Iron Head attack, this collision causing much more damage. Scizor tripped over the explosive planted in the ground, stumbling into the rock behind him as Bisharp gave a swift shake of the head and unsheathed his blades.

'Whatever you can do,' he said as five metres away, Scizor rubbed his head and tried to return to his senses. 'I can do better.'

With that, Bisharp flung five consecutive knives directly at Scizor. His adrenaline levels rocketed to such an extent that his dizziness was flushed away in a heartbeat. The first two he deflected, the third he dodged and the last two he caught with a hand each. He shaped a counter throw at Bisharp who was ready, his expression practically begging him to challenge.

'Go on, do it.' he said softly, analyzing Scizor's every move. 'I dare you.'

Scizor's grip loosened on the two blades before he relaxed the battle position and looked straight at the still prepared Bisharp.

'You know,' he gestured with the knife at the steel-dark type. 'That time you stabbed me? It didn't hurt as bad as just there when you killed Durant.'

'You're stalling.' Bisharp said curtly. 'That's hardly beneficial to your cause.'

'No no,' Scizor laughed out loud, which perplexed Bisharp. 'I have a point to make here. Durant died cos of inadvertent damage to a machine. Guess I gotta return the favor.'

With that, Scizor jumped back and flung one of the blades downwards at the explosive, the metal embedding into the casing. Electricity crackled and the timer stopped where it was, hovering at five minutes and ten seconds.

'No!' Bisharp yelled, his look downwards giving Scizor the upper hand. He threw the second weapon at Bisharp, the hilt bouncing off his head and launched a three move combo. A right hook to the face, a crippling kick to the leg and a massive bullet punch which sent Bisharp skidding across the ground. This opportunity was taken for Scizor to grab hold of both the working explosive and the damaged one, hoping to throw them off the edge and into the abyss. Scizor trampled over Bisharp in order to get to Lopunny but saw a huge shadow loom over him. Thinking Bisharp had come for more, Scizor twisted round but reacted just in time by dropping to the floor. One of the sky shards, bigger than the previous one and shaped like the letter L, had floated too close to the ground, missing the floored Scizor by a foot. He looked up, watching the sky shard head in the direction of the female combatants. Scizor gestured madly to Lopunny as Bisharp staggered to his feet.

'Lopunny! Take the high ground!' Scizor shouted, Lopunny picking up his order from her position. Nidoqueen was about to rake down on her with another poison jab before the sky shard collided into her back, the crumbling pebbles scraping off her. Nidoqueen recovered quickly as it flew over her head and dashed round, aiming to swipe at Lopunny again. However she was nowhere to be seen. Nidoqueen looked left and right, her breathing heavy.

'Hi there.'

The voice came from above. Nidoqueen turned sharply upwards to see Lopunny sitting unnervingly casually on the edge of the sky shard, her hand shaping a wave. She then boosted off the rock, her feet colliding with Nidoqueen's snout and bounced higher up than before. Nidoqueen yelled before viciously screaming.

'Come back here!' she clambered maniacally up the sky shard in search of Lopunny. Behind her, Scizor had almost caught up with them, fitting the two explosives in one claw and shaping to toss them off the mountain. He skidded to a halt about six feet away from the slow moving sky shard and tried to peer past the mist at an opening where the distant chasm below was. Unknown to him, a rocky ravine lay far below them, a long time to clamber up if someone were to fall down. All of a sudden, Bisharp flew into his back, battering him into the sky shard that was very slowly ascending again. Scizor juggled the explosives and turned round just in time to dodge a frighteningly powerful Night Slash that skimmed the skin of the floating rock. Bisharp brought both blades downwards in a scything motion and Scizor had no choice but to block them with the explosives from rendering his head from his neck. Bisharp's eyes widened and he dragged the blades backwards sharply, dislodging the bombs from Scizor's grip, the two of them flying to the ground.

'Shit!'

Scizor tried to reach out but he was punched back by Bisharp, the two of them rolling over on to the sky shard the moment it pulled away from the ground. They were instantly about ten feet in the air now. Their oxygen intake, already strained, was being pushed to the limit. As Scizor let out a wheezy cough, Bisharp attacked with an X-Scissor, cutting into Scizor's body and pushing him further to the edge. As Scizor's upper body dangled helplessly in the air, his right leg was seized by Bisharp and this was seen by Lopunny on the higher level after performing a Hi Jump Kick on Nidoqueen and winding her.

'Scizor!' she cried out, wobbling off balance. 'Bisharp, let him go!'

'Please phrase that better next tIIIIIME!' Scizor's statement turned to a scream as Bisharp pushed him further, his body only suspended in the air by Bisharp's grip round his pointed legs.

'Now we'll all see the truth.' said Bisharp, sharing a quick look at the fearful Lopunny, so quick in fact that he never saw Scizor dexterously reach with his arms under the rock. 'We're going to see how you fare on your own here, Lopunny.'

Bisharp relinquished his grip, causing Lopunny to scream in anguish. Scizor plummeted downwards, disappearing from sight as Nidoqueen finally recovered, her reaction to Lopunny's despair that of awful laughing.

'That's the spirit, Bisharp!' she cackled watching Lopunny sink to her knees with her arms shaking in front of her. 'Now it's my turn!' She reached out fit her whole hand around Lopunny's head, squeezing tight as if she was trying to squish a fruit. 'You won't be so pretty once I'm done here!'

Lopunny shut her eyes tight, waiting for the end to happen but a scarlet flash bounced up behind Nidoqueen and slammed into her, sending her toppling down to the lower level of the L shaped rock, almost landing on Bisharp. Lopunny whipped round and was overjoyed to see Scizor standing there, taking in deep breaths and looking worse for wear but importantly, alive.

'How did you do that!?' Lopunny shouted.

'I'm good at climbing this rock. Had plenty of practice...Ow!' Scizor broke off as Lopunny began slapping him on the arm. 'What's that for!?'

'You always make me so worried!' Lopunny said crossly before turning and looking down at their opponents. 'You guys given up yet?'

'You realize we don't need to beat you?' Nidioqueen said, rubbing her head as Bisharp readied another throwing knife. 'The explosive will go off regardless if you stay up here. That is a very long way down.'

She was right. The ground below was now unseen and only partly due to the mist. The sky shard they were positioned on only looked like it was going to go higher, to destinations where, Lopunny presumed, the oxygen would disappear completely or even worse, some fearsome dragons may reside.

'A stalemate means our victory.' Bisharp said, preparing to throw a sword upwards. Scizor looked to his right, and with his expert eyes, thought he saw another sky shard, slightly smaller but heading in a diagonal downward motion. He had an idea. A terrible one but something nonetheless.

'Lopunny.' he seized her by the arm. 'Remember our first interaction? Ever?'

'In Tanapas City?' Lopunny tried to shrug him off as she apprehensively eyed the probing Bisharp. 'Yeah you almost broke my ribs by smashing into me mid-air. I don't see how that's rele...AAAAAAH!'

Scizor had pulled Lopunny right into his torso and launched himself and her into the air to the right, intending on landing on the other sky shard floating around. Nidoqueen and Bisharp stared at this in disbelief before Nidoqueen shouted 'Come on! It was me supposed to be killing Lopunny not you, Scizor!'

However, to everyone's astonishment, Scizor and Lopunny landed on the very edge of that shard with Scizor absorbing the impact of the solid rock with his metal body. The sight of this rendered Bisharp and Nidoqueen totally speechless.

'...Are you kidding me!?' they both shouted. Lopunny had finally stopped screaming and realized that Scizor's insane plan had succeeded. Once she calmed herself down she immediately raised her hand to Scizor in a smacking motion once again, who cowered on his knees.

'No! Please!' he stammered, Lopunny's slaps dinging off his shoulders. 'That landing hurt me!'

'We could have died!' she screeched, both hands being used. 'Tell me. Did you think of that plan for more than a second? Did you know it would work? Will it give us an advantage in the fight?'

'No. No. And no.' Scizor answered her, his bones cracking as he stood up. 'But it's buoyed us some time.' He looked down. The ground was still not visible but this was due to the mist. There was no knowing whether a jump downwards was safe or not but even that Scizor was not going to risk. 'Keep scanning. We need to look for another sky shard.'

'How much time we got?' asked Lopunny, looking for a shard but also eyes were out for Bisharp and Nidoqueen.

'...I don't know.' murmured Scizor as down far below on the ground, the remaining bomb ticked away to the inevitable, the numbers reaching underneath four minutes.

* * *

At the same time that the aerial battle was taking place, down far away on the ground, the rubble that had came into being after Durant's sacrifice descended on the conflict at the mountain base. It was as if a meteor shower crashed down on the multiple quad bikes, laying waste to what was beneath. Luckily for two approaching pokemon, they had been engaged in a distant conflict involving a car and a Scrafty so they were fortunate to only watch as the rocks fell. They didn't feel so lucky though as they sprinted towards the wreckage, fearing the worst.

'What was that!?' cried Excadrill, pelting after Keldeo who was much faster on foot.

'No! One of the bombs must have went off!' Keldeo leaped over the crushed remnants of a car to observe the once busy battlefield. 'This...This is all my fault.' his voice broke and he stared down at his feet. 'My...My friends.'

'Come on mate.' Excadrill patted him on the back and pointed ahead once he caught up. 'They could still be under there, let's not lose hope! Terrakion can survive that! All of them can! Even...'

Excadrill remembered the most vulnerable member of the team that had fought there and his heart sank.

'Primarina!' he exclaimed, springing to action. 'Let's go.'

The two of them headed down to the huge pile of rocks that lay scattered everywhere. A few mercenary pokemon were lying around, some unconscious and others too injured to move. _The rocks had clearly fallen in their favor_ , thought Keldeo, as he couldn't catch sight of his friends anywhere. Suddenly, he felt his foot being grabbed tightly from someone on the ground. Looking down sharply, Keldeo saw Krookodile, half of his body buried underneath solid rock, reaching and shaking the water pokemons leg.

'I got him!' he wheezed, clearly almost unconscious. 'I got Keldeo! We won!'

'Get off him!'

The voice came from behind Keldeo. He turned round again, expecting Excadrill to jump forward but instead, some sparkling leaves fired straight into Krookodile, the super effective attack powerfully striking him. He relinquished his grip and dropped to the floor, still as a board. Keldeo was overjoyed at the pokemon who had saved him, his elegant frame striding out in to greet his little friend.

'Virizion!' Keldeo cried, his smile wider than Rylus Mountain and ran into Virizion affectionately. 'You came back for me!'

'You didn't think we would leave our favorite little guy?' Virizion chuckled. 'We were so worried about you.'

'This is why you're the best friends I could possibly hope for.' Keldeo said, his eyes swimming with joyful tears. Some mud then splattered over Virizion's shoulder who looked at it with alarm and disgust.

'Could you watch that please!?' Virizion said, looking behind him at Excadrill, his body having drilled its way out of rubble. 'I think I'll need about ten baths when this is all done!'

'I'm looking for Primarina.' panted Excadrill frantically. 'And where are Cobalion and Terrakion?'

'That is a very good question.' said Virizion, switching his mood to concerned. 'Have you seen them?'

Keldeo shook his head as Excadrill continued his search.

'I have not.' he stated gravely but then perked up. 'I'm more positive now though. If you survived then it is very likely that they both did too.'

'Gee thanks.' Virizion rolled his eyes. There was a coughing sound, causing them both to look at a figure emerging through the dust. It was bipedal, so that ruled out the possibility of Cobalion, Terrakion or Primarina. Keldeo and Virizion stood on their guard, waiting for this pokemon to attack. The pokemon revealed itself to be Hitmonlee, his walk slow but upright, more convincing of his strength than Krookodile was. He pointed a shaking finger at Keldeo.

'You were supposed to be...our savior.' he groaned. 'Your power...it can help us all. All of Shan'rala.'

'I can help you all, Sir Hitmonlee.' said Keldeo politely. 'However I refuse to if it involves the ignition of war.'

Hitmonlee grunted and bent his knees, about to fly forward with a triple kick. Before he could do so however, a beam of blue light struck him from behind and sent him forward flipping through the air, over Keldeo and Virizion's heads and smacking into a car door, sliding down to the ground and remaining there unconscious.

'Now that's the spirit, Keldeo.'

Cobalion stood there, the blue light from his sacred sword attack surrounding his body. He was disheveled, covered in dust and Rylus pebbles pouring out of every crack in his body but he stood tall and proud among the rest, looking at Keldeo with more happiness he had displayed all journey.

'Cobalion!' Keldeo screamed with happiness and dashed over to give the same hug to his leader, who reciprocated.

'I thought I lost you.' said Cobalion, his voice rather quaking. 'Keldeo...oh Arceus be praised.'

'I'm fine.' Keldeo whispered, Virizion coming up to both of them. 'I'm fine honestly. It was all worth it.'

'All worth it?' Cobalion backed off slightly, looking Keldeo up and down. 'Look at you! Look what these pokemon have done to you! Tortured you and exploited you for your power, all for what? For violence and chaos!'

'What the bad pokemon of Charom do is a mere gust of wind compared to the goodness I've seen.' said Keldeo whimsically. 'Lopunny. Scizor. Excadrill. Durant. Primarina. All exceptional pokemon and the stories about their friends...these Shining Beacons...they make my heart soar.'

Cobalion stayed silent at this statement. He understood the honesty of Keldeo and decided to withhold any further judgement.

'How you feeling?' asked Virizion, bringing Cobalion to his senses.

'I've been better.' Cobalion stretched, feeling his bones crack. 'We seem to have a trend of being buried under a ton of rocks.'

'And twice we've survived.' smirked Virizion. 'Can't seem to halt us.'

Their conversation was halted by Excadrill bursting out the ground again, his expression worse for wear and showering an increasingly annoyed Virizion in more dirt.

'Still can't find her. This is not good.' said Excadrill, lifting his feet out the ground. He noticed Cobalion next to him and while enthusiastic at his survival, it did beg the question of how sturdy one needed to be to survive that.

'What happened?' Cobalion looked up at the sky confused. 'I was fighting Scizor's brother which was quite weird in of itself then all of a sudden rocks began to fall from the sky.'

'Must have been a detonation from the air.' said Excadrill, pointing at the mountain. 'Not a good sign.'

'Did you beat him though?' asked Keldeo, eager to hear of his leaders heroic exploits. 'Did you defeat Scizor's brother?'

'He did not.'

A voice rang out from behind them all, making everyone jump and turn sharply. The voice was angry. Furious in fact. And it came from the scarlet, one eyed insect standing on top of a huge chunk of rock, two launchers by his side and his breathing heavy and rattling. Zayden's face was livid, full of hatred and frustration towards everyone and everything around him.

'Zayden, it's over.' said Excadrill, the Swords of Justice around him readying their sacred sword attacks. 'Now if you surrender right now we can talk.'

Despite his face maintaining its rage, Zayden let out a sarcastic laugh just like his brother.

'I'm done talking!' he screeched, looking down from the boulder at his adversaries. 'It's time to do what I should have done years ago.'

They watched as he reached down and picked up his launchers, holding them in each arm. The warriors below braced themselves for a spiel and a barrage of projectiles right after that.

'Once I'm done wiping you off the face of Charom.' said Zayden hauntingly. 'I'm going to climb up that mountain myself. I'm going to find the nearest dragon village and I'm going to purge it. Slaughter every last male, female and child dragon I see.'

'You're a monster.' Virizion growled. Zayden smirked.

'I'm a martyr.' he said, clanking the guns together. 'I will not stop slaying dragons until I fall. Even if I do then the message will be understood. The pokemon of Shan'rala will make their voices loud and clear. We are not done yet. We will wage war with Rylus. With Giruphin. With every other faction that dares stand in our way! Once that is done... a satisfied Charom will rise from the ashes.'

'Built on a foundation of skulls.' Cobalion said defiantly.

'That's right.' said Zayden, aiming his guns straight at him. 'And propping up the pile will be yours.'

Before any of them could defend themselves, Zayden stumbled and tripped, both weapons flying out of his hands. The rock he had stood on had risen, dust falling from it's top and blocking out the faint sun in the distance. To Keldeo's delight, he realized it was not a rock at all. It was Terrakion, blending in with the rest of the rubble. The mighty musketeer shook himself off and blinked rapidly as his friends cheered in triumph. On the ground, Zayden scrambled around frantically for his weapons, spotting one ahead of him. He snatched it up and sat upright, his body twisting and aiming straight at Terrakion but he was met by a spray of powerful water , propelling him once again metres forward. He skidded to the feet of Cobalion, who rested it on his chest.

'Please don't rise.'

Zayden trembled, his face dripping. Excadrill had acknowledged the water attack that had took place, his elated mind thinking of only one thing. He leaped up to gain a closer look at Terrakion and saw her. Primarina was underneath him, clearly protected by his massive frame during the avalanche. She beamed up at Excadrill, who sprinted down the rocks to embrace her tightly.

'Sorry I'm dirty.' said Excadrill, his claws ruffling through her blue hair.

'Ah it's only dust.' she croaked, her own appearance completely disheveled as well. 'Terrakion saved me!'

'You guys better not think this is my only skill in life.' laughed Terrakion, seeing Keldeo run over. Cobalion and Virizion brought up the rear, holding Zayden by the arms in their mouths. 'Hey little fella. You good?'

'Terrakion...' Keldeo could not believe it. He went in for a mammoth hug with Terrakion, ecstatic at his situation. Behind them, Virizion and Cobalion threw Zayden down, hitting the ground with a thud. Both pairs of huggers detached themselves and looked down at the sorry desert dweller shaking on the sand.

'So what do we do with this one?' asked Virizion, nodding at Zayden.

'I think we should make contact with the authorities of this land.' said Cobalion. 'See if you can find a working communicator.'

'On it.' both Excadrill and Primarina began to make their way up to the car wreckage's to search.

'Guys...' Keldeo's eyes were brimming again. Cobalion, Terrakion and Virizion all looked at him, pride adorned on each of their faces. 'I can't...thank you enough. You're my heroes and always will be.'

'Hey we're all in this together.' Terrakion smiled kindly.

'If all three of us were captured leaving you behind, we know you'd do the same.' added Virizion, his handsome face glowing.

'And I think...' Cobalion started but couldn't finish. His smile was too wide and he looked as if he was about to burst out laughing. '...Oh forget it. Group hug.'

They all laughed and joined together in unison. The first part of their phrase rang out from Cobalion and the second part by the other three.

'All for one!'

'And one for all!'

* * *

'This doesn't look like it will descend anytime soon.'

Barely any time had passed on the sky shard but Lopunny was getting restless. She was pacing from side to side, looking for some levity but could see none. Scizor was thinking hard, his arms folded. They hadn't caught sight of Bisharp or Nidoqueen yet which may have seemed like a blessing but it riddled them with apprehension. This could have meant that their sky shard had randomly lowered it's height and they reached the ground once again, resetting the explosives. Nevertheless, both of them were on their guard.

'Scizor?'

'Hm?'

'We could just let the bombs go off?' suggested Lopunny. 'I mean they're not near any living pokemon at the moment. No casualties.'

'It's about the destruction caused.' said Scizor, still scanning the mist. 'The dragons are a proud bunch. Realizing that something of that magnitude penetrated the shield that surrounds Rylus will alarm them. it would be a bit different if it was like an avalanche or something but this will look calculated. Their only response is to assume that they are under attack and by who's the main suspect? Shan'rala.'

'Just a suggestion.' Lopunny shrugged.

'I know.' Scizor turned to smile at her. 'I always welcome them.'

Lopunny returned it with a sheepish grin but she noticed Scizor's attention switch to over her shoulder, causing her to look around.

'What is it?'

'There! Look!' Scizor pointed slightly downwards and Lopunny narrowed her eyes to get a better look. Two shapes in the mist moving slowly towards them.

'Sky shards!' Lopunny exclaimed excitedly. 'Their moving towards us from a lower level. This will give us a better chance of reaching the ground!'

'Almost too good to be true.' frowned Scizor, holding Lopunny by the scruff of the neck. 'Get ready to jump. To the one on the left.'

'Okay.' Lopunny breathed out a sigh of anticipation. 'Let's go.'

The two of them braced themselves, arm in arm before giving a huge leap. They soared downwards to the shard on the left, their decline quick, wind rushing through Lopunny's ears. They landed with a crunch on the miniature sized rock, tiny in comparison to the previous ones. Lopunny winced and rubbed her feet while Scizor crouched down, gaining a better look at what was beneath.

'I cannot wait,' grimaced Lopunny, hopping on one foot. 'until I can walk on grass again.'

'I see the ground!' Scizor shouted, pointing below. 'The mountain! That's landing distance for sure!'

'Okay okay.' scowled Lopunny, Scizor standing back up straight. 'Just give me a moment cos my feet are stinging- DUCK!'

Lopunny wrenched Scizor's arm downwards just in time to avoid the razor sharp blade spinning through the air that would have surely decapitated them both. They hit the rock surface and turned to see the other sky shard float close to them, the occupants primed and ready for conflict.

'Oh fuck.' said Lopunny, her and Scizor standing to their feet.

'Hiding is over.' shouted Nidoqueen, her fists clenched. The sky shard she and Bisharp were standing on was about ten metres away from Lopunny and Scizor's and getting slowly closer by the second. Scizor braced himself but Lopunny put her hand in the way.

'The ground is jumping distance you say?' Lopunny asked.

'Rough estimate yeah.' said Scizor. 'We better- SHIT!'

Lopunny yanked Scizor backwards off the sky shard, both plummeting towards the ground at supersonic speed. Nidoqueen watched this happen with a shocked expression while Bisharp cursed.

'Don't just stand there!' he roared, bending his knees. 'Let's finish this!'

He gave Nidoqueen a sharp push with his arms and they both followed the Shining Beacons down to the mountain. Back to square one.

'Oof!'

Scizor clanked against the ground, the impact from the free fall deafening on the already wrecked body. He rolled over, coughing a drop of blood up from his lungs and looked up. Lopunny was ahead of him, her face contorted with pain and her walk hobbling slightly but energetic as ever.

'I'm going to get the bombs!' she told him, making her way to the two of them. Scizor nodded and straightened himself out only for him to hear a crashing noise right behind him. He instinctively ducked and avoided a swinging arm. However his counter attack was blocked by Nidoqueen's powerful parry and his wrists felt numb as a result.

'In all my years,' Nidoqueen hissed, her southpaw stance intimidating. 'I've never met anyone as persistent and annoying as you.'

'I don't get told that often.' said Scizor, preparing himself and allowing Nidoqueen to circle him. 'Usually cos my opponents aren't that talkative once I'm done with them.'

'You fight with a grin on your face!' Nidoqueen cackled, her body glowing which Scizor identified as a Superpower attack. A very powerful move indeed. 'I'm going to blast it off forever.'

'You think that'll stop me?' Scizor smirked, which was returned by Nidoqueen.

'Maybe not me but I reckon your teammate can.' she said menacingly. 'When you realize what she's up against.'

Dread fell over Scizor's mind, engulfing it fully. His smirk dropped just like Nidoqueen said it would and his body went into a frenzy.

'NO! LOPUNNY!'

Lopunny was darting over as quick as she could with her damaged legs, over to the two remaining explosives. A series of quick tosses would see the heinous weapons thrown into the chasm far below and gone forever, which Lopunny could not be happier towards. She skidded to a halt before them, the functioning one ticking into one minute and twenty seconds. Plenty of time, she thought, bending down to pick them up. Her progress was halted by the dreadful cracking sound before her, coming from a pair of clawed metal feet planting into the earth. A swipe upwards sent her sprawling, her face numb with pain.

'I don't think so.' Bisharp sneered as Lopunny wiped her chin. As she stared at her opponent, all of Scizor's fears flooded fresh into her mind, about how she didn't stand a chance against Bisharp and about what would happen if he saw her die. The stream of thoughts ran around her brain like marathon runners, impeding her ability to take another step forward.

'I admire your bravery, Lopunny.' Bisharp antagonized her as Nidoqueen managed to hold Scizor at bay with her powerful strikes. 'There's a fine line between courage and foolishness... You tow it like an expert.'

Lopunny shook her head, her fear departing. She lunged forward with a kick, prompting Bisharp to dodge to the left and counter, smacking her in the back of the head. This process was repeated for the next series of attacks, each one Lopunny attempted to throw, Bisharp was wiser, his counters drawing blood and bruises on Lopunny's skin. _She doesn't know when to stop_ , thought Scizor, trying to find a gap through Nidoqueen's onslaught to reach her. _She doesn't think. It'll kill her!_

'But courage only takes you so far.' said Bisharp, approaching Lopunny bent on one knee and gasping for breath. 'You can be as brave a pokemon as there ever was but at the end of the day, if you don't have the strength, the speed, the skills of a true warrior then you are destined to lose...' He narrowed his wicked eyes. 'You're not a warrior, Lopunny. You're just..?'

Bisharp beckoned with his arm, trying to get Lopunny to finish his sentence. She spat out another blob of blood from her mouth, trying to regain her breath as the bombs ticked to forty seconds. She then looked up at Bisharp above her, his blade drawn and to his shock, a slight smile crept on her bruised mouth.

'I'm just a journalist.' she said softly, her hand brushing over a chunk of rock on the ground. '...I just find the right info!'

With that, she scooped up the rock before Bisharp could think of reacting and jammed it hard with both hands into his wounded chest, her elbows pressing in tight. As Bisharp yelled in pain, Lopunny pushed him away, rock still embedded and performed a clinical combo. One strike, two strikes, finished by a devastating Hi Jump Kick that blasted Bisharp to the very gorge of the mountain, his metal body scraping against the Rylus rock. Lopunny breathed out a sigh of relief and pride and bent down to pick up the bombs.

WHAM!

Bisharp had recovered in miracle time, sprinting over and delivering an absolutely mighty Iron Head down into Lopunny's face, flooring her in a second and causing the explosives to fall to the ground once again. Her left eye became bruised and black almost immediately but she had no time to suck in the pain. The bombs had ticked under twenty five seconds and Bisharp stood directly above her. His blade was unsheathed once again and he plunged it downwards. Lopunny gasped and threw her arms up in a cross motion to block Bisharp's forearm from crashing down, the blade coming centimetres from her face. Bisharp struggled, applying all his strength and weight into stabbing Lopunny while her muscles screamed in agony trying against all odds to hold the blade aloft.

'Why...won't you...diieeee!' Bisharp sounded absolutely insane in his frustration before glancing up and calling out. 'Nidoqueen!'

This was registered ahead of them. Scizor had just blocked another Chip Away attack but his loss in concentration paid a heavy price. With his guard down for a split second, Nidoqueen realized her chance to finish Lopunny and raked upwards, slashing Scizor in a tender area below his neck. Scizor screamed in pain and fell down, clutching his throat as Nidoqueen turned and sprinted, eyes full of fire, to Bisharp and Lopunny's stalemate. Scizor began staggering to his feet, his balance all over the place before eventually, his only possible action was to stumble against a rock and reach his arm out in desperation.

'LOPUNNY!'

Lopunny glanced upwards from her position on the ground, seeing Nidoqueen dash towards her upside down. Her terror intensified but she still held strong, her very bones burning on the inside.

'Jam it!' Bisharp roared, his own body quaking at the physical strain. 'Jam the blade!'

 _Jam the blade_? Lopunny's eyes darted to her right, a thought coming to her. Nidoqueen snarled and leaped upwards, her arm raised, intending on applying her own power to push the knife down. At the very moment her hand pressed down on Bisharps, Lopunny rolled sideways, diverting the aim of the weapon and pushing it downwards into the explosives. The casing was torn into, Bisharp's blade sharp enough to pierce the Rylus rock underneath them. Sparks flew out, several of them flickering into the skin of the mountain and followed by a splintering of the crust itself. Lopunny pencil rolled away as far as possible from the scenario as Nidoqueen staggered upwards and Bisharp attempted to wrench his blade from the depths of the stab. Lopunny limped over to Scizor still hugging the rock and threw his arm over her head, both looking ahead at the slow moving fissure.

'What's going on?' Lopunny asked, watching Nidoqueen try and assist Bisharp with the pulling out. 'I just intended them to destroy the bombs. Why is the mountain falling away? Is that possible?'

'The sparks...' Scizor was elated, staring in disbelief at what was ahead. 'I think the sparks powered by Keldeo's energy are shutting down the force field around the mountain! Bisharp's blade has just proven sharp enough to cause some real damage!'

Bisharp and Nidoqueen finally ripped the weapon out from the ground but that only managed to speed up the process. The crack traveled thick and fast, causing the mountain to crumble away, the two points of the fissure reaching either edge of the gorge. There was a monumental crack and the entire peak tipped over, carrying Nidoqueen and Bisharp on top of it. They both cried out.

'RUN!'

Nidoqueen scampered, her hand brushing backwards and pushing Bisharp backwards in an attempt to save herself. Bisharp staggered, his left foot falling backwards into thin air. It was then that the drop proved too steep for him and he toppled backwards into the mist, travelling far down. Nidoqueen lunged forward at the last moment, her talons grabbing hold of the very fringe of the mountain as the debris fell away. There was pain and panic in her face as she tried to haul herself up.

CRACK!

'AAAAARRRGHH!' Nidoqueen let out a strangled yell as Lopunny stamped down as hard as she could on Nidoqueen's stubby fingers, her foot digging in deep as the edges of the damaged cliff crumbled away. Scizor flanked her, allowing her to get the finishing blow.

'You're done Nidoqueen.' she said, all her strength being applied to her foot. 'This is what happens when you strive to become better rather than wait for everyone else to become as bad as you.'

Although her intent was there, Lopunny found herself struggling to kick forward. She couldn't bring herself to. Her first ever kill, against her rival, the most heinous pokemon she had ever met. It felt so right but at the same time, it felt so wrong.

'Lopunny...' Scizor rested an arm on her shoulder, his eyes kind. 'I know how it feels. It's okay. You don't have to.'

'I...' Lopunny gritted her teeth, her eyes beginning to bubble slightly. 'I've got to. She's too dangerous-'

CRACK!

Nidoqueen's claws ripped away from the edge, her weight too much for it. Scizor hauled Lopunny away as Nidoqueen plummeted with a bloodcurdling scream down to the rubble in a slot canyon below. Her noises echoed throughout the mountain and were suddenly silenced, leaving only Scizor and Lopunny arm in arm in the desolate mountain. The sounds of battle were gone. It seemed the day was theirs. Scizor detached from Lopunny, the two of them looking dreadful. Scizor's already ravaged armor had fresh new dents and scratches while one of his wings was badly torn. Lopunny had an absolute shiner of a black eye where Bisharp had punched her while her left knee had acquired some damage leading to a limp. Nevertheless, they were alive.

'How you feeling?' asked Scizor, seeming exhausted.

'Oh you know...crap.' Lopunny managed a smile although it looked more like a grimace. 'Aching all over.'

'I can guess.' Scizor broke into a rather dumb grin. 'You were...incredible. You beat Bisharp! I can't believe it, I thought you would...You would...'

'Die?' Lopunny said, her eyebrow raised. She shook her head. 'I appreciate the sentiment but I hope you know I can hold my own against anyone now.'

Scizor nodded.

'Yeah of course...Ow!' He stretched and cracked his back. 'That's it. I'm retiring. Had enough action for a lifetime.'

'Tell me about it!' Lopunny laughed before looking around. 'Right how do we get down?'

'Follow me.' Scizor beckoned her and she took her hand. 'I don't hear any sounds from below. Either we're that far up or the fight down there has stopped.'

'Yeah but who won?' Lopunny's fears suddenly returned before they were quelled.

'Oh if it was them then they'd be busy reigning fire on the mountain.' mused Scizor, the two of them travelling steadily down the craggy creek, their joints aching and bones cracking. 'I have high hopes.'

'Good vibes all round.' said Lopunny. Together, they traveled, hand in claw, down the rubble of the royal blue Rylus rock, wondering if they would pass by the debris where Bisharp and Nidoqueen were buried underneath and completely unaware of the stirring that was taking place amidst the shattered rocks...


	19. Chapter Eighteen: A View To Kill For

**Chapter Eighteen: A View To Kill For**

'My brother knows the Defog move.' Scizor told Lopunny, holding her hand as she tip toed her way down the crusted rocks, careful to avoid the jagged ones. 'I think it would come in handy here.'

He was referring of course to the thick mist that permeated the mountain. Anything past five metres was practically invisible, meaning that the two of them needed to be extra precise in their navigation. They had wound their way down the mountain in a circular pattern, being sure to take their time in the more treacherous areas.

'Why don't you have it?' asked Lopunny, her limp still prominent. 'Defog?'

'Useless in combat isn't it?' Scizor laughed, craning his neck to peer ahead. 'Remember I'm a fighter. Was always better than Zayden.'

'Retired fighter as you said up there.' Lopunny pointed upwards. 'So you could just relearn that move? Hmm?'

Scizor placed his hands on his hips and let out a sigh, his face breaking into a smile.

'Would be quite cool to learn moves on the go wouldn't it?' he mused, looking back down at the shady unknown ahead of him. 'Come on. Let's try be-'

'Scizor!' Lopunny held him by the arm and pointed ahead. They both looked as the fog that was clouding the path in front of them slowly cleared from view. Scizor was baffled at this.

'Well that's weird.' Scizor said cautiously. 'It's as if on demand.'

'Are you complaining?' said Lopunny, gazing in wonder at the disappearing hindrance. 'Everything's going well. I can actually breathe properly too!'

Scizor looked her up and down, from her blood soaked mouth and her black eye to her quivering legs that looked as if they would collapse if the almighty pressure of standing up continued to be applied. Everything is going well is it, he thought.

'It's a bit strange.' Scizor told her. 'Just be ready. Remember who lives here.'

'That's true.' said Lopunny, pondering if a dragon had been alerted to the conflict and was swooping their area ready to fight them. She shuddered at the thought, knowing they were both in too weak a state to fight. Her mind then went to their old friend who she knew was back living on Rylus.

'You think Garchomp knew we were here?'

'I don't see how he could.' said Scizor, turning his body sideways to make his way across a narrow ledge. 'He's living in one of the highest levels away from most folk I'm pretty sure. Keeps himself to himself.'

'I just worry to think if he heard the noises from far above.' said Lopunny sadly. 'You know what he's like.'

Scizor shrugged his shoulders, his feet resting on the wider platform once he helped Lopunny across with him. They carried their journey onward in silence, the atmosphere of the once misty mountain that of a somber church. It was just so vast in size that despite their inability to ascend further, both Lopunny and Scizor were so curious to know what was up there. Something majestic. Mystical even. It was hard to fathom the amount of attacks launched from this seemingly magnificent momentum that affected the Shan'rala Desert and providing as the catalyst for this conflict. Lopunny considered herself very lucky that she was a relative newcomer to conflict and did not have to go through the same battles as the likes of Scizor, Excadrill, Zayden and the rest.

'Are you doing fine?' asked Lopunny, looking up at Scizor's back.

'I'm always fine.' Scizor said, not turning round until he noticed Lopunny was not following him. She stopped where she was, her body language telling Scizor that that wasn't the right answer. '...It's a lot to take in.'

'I know.' nodded Lopunny comfortingly. 'You gotta move on though.'

'...I have!' Scizor said, appearing more perky.

'You have?'

'I think so.' Scizor nodded before stepping closer to Lopunny. 'A while ago I still believed there was something left for me in Shan'rala. I don't know what I was thinking. All it lead to was a path of self destruction.'

Lopunny said nothing, her hands rubbing against each other softly.

'Like Keldeo said,' said Scizor, turning his body forward to face the distance of Shan'rala. 'purpose would give my life more meaning.'

The view was more open and inviting than it ever been. It was as if the mood of relief was reflected in the purity of the trillions upon trillions of dust particles littering just this sector of the land itself. Scizor and Lopunny watched the sand glimmer and shine in the sun beaming past the thick clouds. The scorched and charred remains of settlements long since razed littered the landscape but it gave the whole thing a poetic feel.

'This life I have...' Scizor said, the clouds above him idly passing over. '...I could spend it with you. If that's what you want.'

Lopunny looked up at him, her mouth roundly shaped in astonishment.

'You could?' she said, her voice quivering.

'I think so.' nodded Scizor, his voice more confident than the statement implied. 'I mean,' his tone went back to casual, almost comical. 'we don't need to go about saving the day you know? Just like...a normal life? What is a normal life for you anyway? Drinking coffee? I just-'

Lopunny put her hand to Scizor's mouth to stop his yammering. Her eyes were sparkling with happiness and Scizor felt his heart pick up in pace a little.

'A normal life for me,' said Lopunny. 'is improving myself and others every single day. Can you get behind that?'

'I guess so, Cerys.' Scizor smiled. This was returned by Lopunny who leaned forward and kissed him before both turning to watch the clouds pass over the burning orange sand of Shan'rala. Lopunny stared at the horizon, feeling a sense of awe over the place and knowing that despite their adventure she had barely scratched the surface of this place. As much as she wanted to get home, she would miss the thrill of exploring.

'I guess this place was beautiful before...' Lopunny trailed off.

'It wasn't.' Scizor shrugged, taking Lopunny by surprise. 'It was home though. And that was good enough for me.'

'I guess something doesn't need to be spectacular to be special,' said Lopunny.

'Good thing that you're both...' Scizor said dolefully before retracting. 'Oh man please forget I said that! Ew!'

'Too late!' Lopunny laughed, rounding Scizor and heading downwards to the next level. 'I'm going to tell everyone I know that you said that and you can't stop me! La la la!'

'Come back here!' Scizor yelped jokingly, initiating a playful yet careful pursuit of Lopunny to the lower levels of Rylus.

* * *

CRACK!

A blue fist burst through the rubble that littered the underpass it had fallen into. Body parts continued to smash their way through the weakened rocks with a vicious fury. Eventually, Nidoqueen emerged from the wreckage, covered in soot and blood. She was seething with rage. Her hands curled up into fists, her mouth was drooling and her bulging eyes looked depraved and bloodthirsty. She heard a wheezing from behind her, causing her to whip around and clear away a number of rocks with one swipe.

'Get up!' she pulled Bisharp to his feet, almost wrenching him forward on to his chest. The steel pokemon was also covered head to toe in dust, his metal components fragmented and the wound in his chest more gaping than ever. Bisharp's eyes were tired and bloodshot and his body language that of a defeated man. A man who was tired of this long and painful journey with a psychotic and power hungry partner.

'That's...the last time they get the better of me.' Nidoqueen snarled, rummaging through the rocks. 'That rabbit will die. She'll fucking die!'

'Nidoqueen...' Bisharp sighed, kneeling down and resting his arm on his leg. '...No more. We're done.'

'We are not done.' Nidoqueen said, finding the remaining explosive amidst the rubble. She banged hard on it with her hand, causing a crackling noise and the numbers reset. They read one minute and seven seconds but she had yet to press the countdown button. 'I'm going to use this to destroy them. I will bring about their reckoning.'

'We can't... We have to go.' Bisharp groaned, looking up at Nidoqueen. 'We're too damaged. The dragons will-'

'I don't care about the dragons!' Nidoqueen turned and screamed in Bisharp's face. She was livid. Deranged, even. It was to such an extent that Bisharp took a staggered step backwards. 'Don't you understand!? It's her I want! It's all I care about now! If you hadn't become such a weak and pathetic excuse for a warrior then we wouldn't need to do this right now!'

'I'm not weak.' Bisharp said as defiantly as his choked up lungs would allow him. 'I'm not a monster. I know when I'm beaten and I know what course of action I need to take now.'

'You're coming with me.' Nidoqueen approached him slowly. 'That's final.'

'No.' Bisharp put his foot down. 'Pursue what demented revenge you desire. I am not partaking in it. I'm done.'

Bisharp turned to look for a way out of the huge chasm they had fallen into and spotted one to their right. He straightened himself up and was about to leave before Nidoqueen seized him by the arm and tugged. Bisharp rolled round to face her, his blade extended in a flash and held it by her neck. There was severe tension in the air. Bisharp and Nidoqueen faced each other in silence for a few seconds, the eye contact completely unblinking.

'Don't...' Bisharp warned her, the blade creeping closer to her throat. Nidoqueen smirked. She lowered her arm and began to fidget with the bomb she had clasped in her other hand. Bisharp observed her doing this before repeating the turning process. It was then that Nidoqueen struck. Her hand plunged into Bisharp's weak spot, her grip clasping over shards of internal metal and pulled back, ripping the pieces out from where they were. Bisharp gasped and yelled in agony, sinking to his knees, in too much pain to mount any sort of resistance. Nidoqueen raised her hand and crushed the metal in her powerful grip, the pieces splintering and cracking.

'Don't give me that look.' said Nidoqueen, acting as if Bisharp's expression of pain was a plea of sorrow. 'This is your doing. How many chances did you have in the past few days to kill every single one of those stupid pathetic losers? Not one of them you took. Compared to what you were before... You're a disgrace.'

She then lunged forward foot first and kicked Bisharp backwards, sending him toppling into the pile of rocks that lay before them. Bisharp hit them with a clank, still clutching his stomach, the searing pain and vulnerability he felt forcing him to prioritize his safety above all else. He kept his guard up, one arm protecting his weakness and the other raised above his head. Nidoqueen looked with a pitiful expression at the defeated Bisharp below him before tutting loudly.

'You have some nerve to call me a monster, Bisharp.' she told him, tucking the explosive under her armpit. 'After all the stuff you've done? One doesn't magically become a saint over night. Think about that.'

She shot one last look of disdain at her former partner before stretching her cracking bones and making her way up the passage into the sunlight, all the while Bisharp took his time to shift his damaged body upwards, trying against all odds to stand upright.

* * *

'There!' Lopunny pointed ahead as she trundled down a number of craggy steps. 'This looks familiar.'

She was standing at a precipice overseeing the abyss that separated Shan'rala and Rylus. While the day was secure, that drop remained the scariest thing she could think of right now and she would be lying if she pretended she wasn't apprehensive of how they were going to cross it. The ground they were standing on was a flat surface with a cliff face pointing outwards and overseeing the stemming desert. They were so close now. The foot of the mountain was dawning on them.

'Phew!' Scizor took little steps to avoid stumbling down the rather steep pile. 'Finally! I can smell that fresh Shan'rala air!'

'All I can smell is smoke, fire and what might be spilled internal organs.' Lopunny curled her nose in disgust.

'Exactly.' Scizor clapped her on the back.

'Oh man.' Lopunny placed her hands on her knees to catch her breath again. 'I'm not going to miss climbing up there anytime soon. Have no idea how you guys managed it all those years ago.'

'Most of us didn't, that's the thing.' Scizor said to her. 'Only the strongest survived.'

'What does that say about me then?' Lopunny said proudly. Scizor looked at her.

'Nothing.' he said cheekily before quickly retracting. 'Did I say nothing? I meant everything. Absolutely everything.'

'Correct.' Lopunny elbowed him in the ribs lightly. They were then interrupted by a shout from ahead, causing them both to stand to attention.

'Scizor! Lopunny!'

Excadrill stood behind the abyss, waving his arms madly to get their attention. He was around thirty metres away and at a forty five degree angle from where Scizor and Lopunny were perched.

'I see you!' Scizor shot his arm up in the air for him to react to, his heart soaring at seeing he was alright. Next to him stood Keldeo, who was staring up at Lopunny with an expression of giddy delight which was returned in kind.

'Keldeo!' Lopunny cried out, clapping her hands together. 'You're alright!'

'Bit sore here...there...everywhere.' Keldeo laughed, allowing Excadrill to rub his back. 'But I'm here. I've never been so grateful to a group of pokemon in all my life.'

Scizor and Lopunny looked around that area closely, seeing dozens of piles of scrap metal littering the ground, joining a mound of unconscious mercenary bodies. Primarina stood on the other side of Keldeo, nursing her own wounds she had suffered at the battle earlier. She gave an appreciative nod at both Lopunny and Scizor before shouting 'I think I did well!'

'Mmm...' Lopunny wavered her hand in a 'so so' gesture. It was then that their attention was drawn to the three Swords of Justice; Cobalion, Terrakion and Virizion, bringing along a defeated and crestfallen mercenary, his feet dragging across the bumpy ground. They threw Zayden to the floor, inches away from the drop with Cobalion planting his foot on Zayden's back, pinning him down. Zayden slowly turned his head upwards, the expression he was shooting Scizor one of absolute disgust. Lopunny rested her hand on Scizor's back, her fingers slowly caressing up and down. Scizor shared a long look at his brother, saying nothing as all three eyes stared into each other, two of them containing deep sadness while the mismatched one burning with rage.

'He's all yours.' Cobalion said loudly, his foot dug sharply into Zayden's metal plating.

'We've made contact with the Charom authorities.' said Keldeo, nodding at a communicator held in Excadrill's claw. 'They'll be on their way. Something about a Mayor Gallade..?'

'Oh fantastic.' Scizor rolled his eyes. Lopunny chuckled.

'Wonder how happy he'll be that we were the ones who took down Bisharp?' speculated Lopunny. 'He's gone. So is she.'

Bisharp noticed Lopunny's seemingly whimsical tone. He looked down at her, his eyes twinkling.

'Are you happy?' he asked. 'You were the one who beat her.'

'I am.' said Lopunny, nodding. 'I'm more pleased that she won't be able to hurt more pokemon ever again but I would be lying if I said I didn't fancy myself a little bit more now.'

Scizor laughed before nudging her in the side.

'Uh yeah by the way,' he added, walking behind her. 'that was totally your first kill.'

'I...oh.' Lopunny's face fell. It was quite the information to take in, especially in such a jokey and casual way. She pawed the ground with her feet, Scizor looking at her intently before realizing his error.

'Oh I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-'

'It's okay.' Lopunny held out her hand and rolled her shoulders back. 'It means nothing.' She looked back up at Scizor, managing a smile. 'I won't let it define me.'

'It's usually a big deal.' said Scizor. Lopunny shook her head.

'It won't consume me.' said Lopunny. 'Your story is different. It's been a necessity your whole life. For me, it's a last resort. Pokemon like her don't deserve the beauty of existence.'

Scizor gave an appreciative smirk and rubbed Lopunny on the shoulder affectionately, sharing a moment together. Both of them then looked down at the gorge that overwhelmed the bottom of the mountain, its infinite darkness deep and foreboding.

'Right, so how we going to get across?' asked Lopunny. Scizor let out an 'eh!' noise which amused her.

'Someone might be along soon.' Scizor said, referring to the comment about the authorities being there in a while. 'Just need to question Zayden on things before...yeah.'

'You'll be alright.' said Lopunny sweetly.

'As always.' said Scizor, stretching and cracking a few bones in his back.

BOOM!

An explosion tore right through the wall of the mountain next to them, sending rubble everywhere. Scizor pushed Lopunny down as he was viciously caught by a large piece of it spinning through the air, trapping his leg and immobilizing him.

'What the fuck!?' exclaimed Excadrill and Terrakion, the latter quickly apologizing for his expletive after. Primarina and Virizion let out high pitched screams while Cobalion gritted his teeth and forced his foot down on Zayden's back harder.

'Don't you move.' he hissed as Keldeo sprinted to the edge.

'What the-' he stammered, trying to gauge a closer look. 'What's going on!?'

'Stay here!' ordered Virizion, hauling him back. 'We're not losing you again!'

'Scizor!' Lopunny spluttered on the mountain, waving smoke from her obscured vision. She was startled, terrified even. Her senses were being battered with every second she spent in this inferno of smog, so she tried feeling her way around with her outstretched arms. Eventually, she placed them on what she knew was a solid rock and the noises coming from Scizor were revealed to come from the floor.

'Scizor!' she cried, the smoke billowing away and allowing her to see. Scizor was trapped, immobilized underneath a chunk of Rylus rock that had landed straight on top of his legs. He grit his teeth and yelled in agony, straining to push the heavy stone off him but to absolutely no avail. Lopunny gasped and lent her weight to it.

'It's no...use!' Scizor grunted, his eyes streaming and blood dribbling from his mouth.

'Don't say that!' Lopunny shunted it again with all her might. 'We're gonna get you out of here! I need a stick or something!'

'You need to pray!' a horrible voice shouted, bringing Lopunny and Scizor's attention forward to the figure standing behind the last gusts of smoke. Her hands were trembling with anticipation and her breath was heavy. Gutteral even. Her red eyes flared up to become visible behind the smog.

'No...' Lopunny shook her head in despair as Scizor continued to push the rock with his strong arms. 'Why can't you just stay dead!?'

'You honestly think I'd let you be the one that kills me!?' Nidoqueen screamed, the smoke clearing away finally and exposing her absolutely feral expression. 'You!? Some tiny little vermin from the city... Everything in her life given to her? NO!'

She spat on the ground below her. 'No more toying. I'm going to kill you right here, right now.'

With that, Nidoqueen began to march with a frightening intensity towards a startled Lopunny who edged backwards, only for her foot to slip on the edge behind her.

'Lopunny!' Scizor cried, reaching out with his hand. Lopunny looked up just in time to dodge a massive punch from Nidoqueen which would have sent her plummeting to her death surely. She rolled out the way but almost instantly, Nidoqueen had returned, striking downwards with a clenched fist. She smashed into Lopunny, her head smacking the ground and coughing blood up. Scizor struggled with everything he had, his energy reserves depleted and now genuinely panicking. Nidoqueen knelt downwards, planting one huge clawed foot on Lopunny's back and grabbing her ears. She began to twist them malevolently, a sick joy in her eyes at hearing Lopunny's scream of agony. On the ground, the Swords of Justice were trying to guage a good position to launch a sacred sword attack to help her.

'It's no good!' moaned Virizion. 'I can't aim without also hitting Lopunny! They're too close together!'

'And we can't strike the ground beneath them.' grumbled Terrakion, scanning the terrain. 'Otherwise all three of them will fall.'

'No!' Keldeo's eyes were streaming. He was deathly afraid and wasn't ashamed of hiding it at the moment. 'Cobalion! Excadrill! What do we do?'

'I...' Excadrill shook his head, a petrified Primarina to his right and a focused Cobalion still trapping Zayden to his left. He wasn't a leader. His anxiety levels were being managed at the present moment with the help of Primarina's touch. He shook his head, unable to speak. Keldeo turned to his leader, the pokemon he looked up to most.

'Cobalion! You always have the right plan!' He yelled, hearing Lopunny's screams and his very soul ringing with painful alarms. '...Please!'

'...I don't know.' Cobalion said, the words causing him agony.

'AAAAHH!' Lopunny shrieked. Nidoqueen had wrenched upwards, her claws clasped tightly around Lopunny's long ears and dragged her kicking and screaming up in the air. Her legs flailed desperately, trying anything to catch Nidoqueen but to no avail.

'Nidoqueen...please!' Scizor's face was gaunt and terrified, his arm reaching out as far as it would go. He started gesturing madly at himself. 'Take me instead! You can do whatever you want to me just please let her go!'

'You think I'd pass the chance to kill both of you with one swoop?' Nidoqueen growled at him, advancing slowly towards the edge of the cliff, Lopunny held firmly in the air. 'Your turn will come. Now you watch.'

'NOO!' Scizor screamed, dragging his claws along the ground. Nidoqueen smirked before looking back at Lopunny, whose grasp around Nidoqueen's arms was beginning to slip. The pokemon on the distant ground held their breath, unable to do anything about this.

'My ambition may be over,' she hissed, evil in her eye. 'but I can kill you right now at long last. To me...that's a win.'

Lopunny struggled but refused to look away. Her feet dangled above the bottomless pit helplessly, Nidoqueen's clasp on her ears slowly loosening...

'Wait!'

The metallic voice came as a shock to Nidoqueen. Her grip tightened once again and she turned her head cautiously. Scizor and Lopunny both opened their eyes slowly, buoyed by this delay as Scizor began to push once again. The endeavour seemed fruitless but nevertheless he persisted.

'What do you want!?' Nidoqueen barked angrily at Bisharp, who had followed her through the hole she had blown through the mountain. 'Can't you see I'm busy here!?'

Bisharp was clutching the wound sustained by Nidoqueen's treacherous stabbing, his face gaunt. It was as if all the blood had been drained out of his body. He now stood, wide eyed, staring at Nidoqueen, a shadow of his former self.

'What's going on?' Excadrill tried to peer upwards, noticing the delay and Nidoqueen turning her back. Annoyingly, this still meant that none of them could fire an accurate attack on her. Keldeo had ceased his fit but continued to shudder, leading Primarina to put her fin round her.

'You...' Scizor shook from where he lay, his lower body now completely numb from being crushed. He stared at Bisharp slowly approaching Nidoqueen, his heart in his mouth, completely devastated at the situation. Bisharp and Nidoqueen were alive, Lopunny was about to fall to her demise and soon he would join her. It was a loss of galactic magnitude.

'What are you doing, Bisharp?' Nidoqueen scrutinized him as he came closer. 'You dare come crawling back to me after this?'

'I know what you want to do here.' said Bisharp, breathing heavily, his movement sluggish. He came a few feet apart from Nidoqueen, still holding the slowly fading Lopunny tightly in her grasp. 'Why give Lopunny this death? Why don't you watch as I carve her pretty little face from her skull. Or are you too cowardly to back your word?'

'Fucking monster!' Scizor scrabbled madly, trying to swipe at Bisharp's feet. His mind felt like it was splitting, his physical energy drained and his mental fortitude cracking. Nidoqueen frowned before cackling loudly.

'Good to see you've regrown your spine Bisharp!' she exclaimed. She hauled her arm in and planted Lopunny knee first into the ground next to her. Lopunny grunted, the pain everywhere else numbing that connection. With a puffy eye, she looked up at Bisharp in more defiance. He looked down at her with a blank expression, impossible to read. Lopunny was to weak to resist but she could manage a few words directed to her left.

'No matter what happens...we won this.' Lopunny croaked to Scizor, whose body was limp and defeated under the huge rock. 'We've created our purpose. That's enough for me.' She then forced out a weakened smile before looking back up at Bisharp, her face determined and ready. 'What are you waiting for?'

Bisharp paused before unsheathing his blade. Lopunny refused to shut her eyes, no matter how horrific that weapon looked. Scizor trembled where he lay, his very fiber devastated.

'No...no no no!' he shuddered, his tears falling thick and fast. 'Bisharp! Please! Kill me! Cerys!'

Bisharp stood where he was, staring at Lopunny whose head was held in place by Nidoqueen. She was eager to get the proceedings going and was perturbed at the length of time he was taking.

'Well go on then!' Nidoqueen barked loudly, her claws digging into Lopunny's head. 'Come on Bisharp! Don't continue to fuel the fact that you've become a weak, incompetent fool-'

There was a ferocious stabbing motion from Bisharp. His foot planted down and his sword was thrown forward with a savage thrust. Scizor shut his eyes and screamed in distress as he heard a sickening stabbing sound. Bisharp...had straightened his arm and moved it above Lopunny's head. Instead of harming her, he had plunged his blade right into Nidoqueen's chest. Nidoqueen let out a sharp gasp, the unfamiliar noise alerting Lopunny, Scizor and the pokemon on the ground.

'What just happened!?' Terrakion was startled, he and Virizion's jaws dropping open.

'Lady...Lopunny?' Keldeo shuddered, craning forward with his neck.

'I believe,' Cobalion analysed the limited vision he had. 'that the redcoat has become a turncoat.'

On the cliff, Scizor and Lopunny were still trying to comprehend what had just happened. Bisharp stood where he was, his face blank but his eyes filled with resentment, staring straight into the dumbfounded Nidoqueen. He then stepped forward, pushing the blade an inch forward and piercing her heart. Nidoqueen's dying croaks pitched, causing Lopunny to scamper away from her location over to Scizor, her hand fitting around his. Bisharp placed his left hand on Nidoqueen's shoulder and leaned forward, still maintaining his unblinking eye contact.

'You never knew when you pushed too far.' he murmured, blood beginning to trickle from Nidoqueen's eyes and mouth. With that, Bisharp wrenched away, pulling his blade from her and sticking his foot out. Nidoqueen tumbled backwards, falling into the abyss. Bisharp stared downwards until her shrinking corpse disappeared from Charom, descending into the black void where she belonged.

'Nidoqueen!' Excadrill exclaimed, throwing his arms above his head. 'She's...What the-'

'I can't believe it!' Primarina gasped, as the Swords of Justice let out a cheer.

'Lady Lopunny is alive!' Keldeo whooped, prancing around in a circle. Cobalion smiled to himself before looking down at the pokemon trapped underneath him all this time. Zayden was defeated, his initial elation at his brother being foiled now replaced with a complete breakdown of the spirit.

'Fuck...' Zayden trembled before burying his head in the dirt, slamming his claws downwards. 'Fuck!'

'Scizor...' Lopunny rubbed Scizor's still shaking arm and sighed with a relief that she a few moments ago seemed impossible to come. 'Oh Scizor! I'm so sorry!'

'For what?' Scizor wheezed, sitting up the best he could. 'You didn't do anything! I was the blubbering mess, you looked death in the face.'

'Yeah I didn't mean for you to get so worried.' Lopunny said, cracking a smile. 'That...took me by surprise. I...I thought that was it. For me.'

'For both of us.' Scizor fitted both his claws around Lopunny's hand and kissed it gently. There was a clanking noise to their side. Turning, they saw Bisharp throw his blade down on the ground before kicking it off the edge, following Nidoqueen's dead body.

'No more...' Bisharp said quietly before turning to face Lopunny and Scizor. 'Stand aside.'

'What?' Lopunny stood up straight, expecting the worst but Bisharp pointed over her shoulder.

'The rock. I think I'll be able to move it.'

'What makes you think we can trust you?' Scizor snapped at him, seemingly uncaring of the combat advantages Bisharp had at the present moment.

'Did you...not just see what I did?' Bisharp said, rather bemused.

'Doesn't mean anything...'

'Scizor, please.' Lopunny said, rolling her eyes and stepping to the side. Bisharp approached, getting into a powerful position and pushing hard against the rock. It seemed fruitless at the start but eventually, Bisharp mustered enough strength to roll it off Scizor, his lower body still weak but finally free. Scizor groaned and stretched out, every bone of his seemingly cracking after the strain. His torso was lifted by Lopunny and the two sat in unison, the rabbit seemingly cradling the insect. Bisharp then turned around, gazing at the skyline of Shan'rala before him. The sun beginning to begin its slow descent into the distant mountains and signalling the beginning of the evening. He let out a deep sigh and picked away at the open wound in his chest. Lopunny and Scizor watched this together, Lopunny with curiousity, Scizor with appprehension. Bisharp seemed to be trying to make his wound more symmetrical, hacking away at loose parts and tightening the wound. The self-surgery was something to behold.

'That should...do it.' Bisharp's voice came out strained, the process obviously dealing him a lot of pain.

'Bisharp.' Lopunny moved forward, despite Scizor's objections. 'I...I don't know why you did that...but thank you.'

'...Some things are best left removed from this land.' Bisharp said, not looking at either of them. 'She was one of them.'

There was a brief silence between the three of them. Scizor and Lopunny held each other close, both thinking about how surprising it was that they could be this relaxed around Bisharp now, although still wishing for the Giruphin reinforcements to rescue them as soon as possible.

'Well that's that.' Bisharp said, wiping blood off his arm and turning away, beginning a walk towards the wall of the mountain.

'Where do you think you're going?' Scizor leaned upwards, his body more mobile now. 'You ain't getting away scot-free. You still did all this fucked up shit!'

'You're right.' said Bisharp, stopping where he was. 'I did kill in my time on this mission. I killed the same amount of times as you did Scizor.' He glanced back at the shocked insect. 'Think about that.'

Scizor was speechless. Bisharp continued to appear cold and distant, the scratches on his armour gleaming in the bright sun.

'Nidoqueen valued me as a partner because she took me for some cold killer.' Bisharp continued, Lopunny and Scizor careful in rising to their feet. 'That I'm willing to create a mountain of corpses just to complete an objective. She was wrong. I only kill...' He trailed off before looking up at the two of them, his eyes a little brighter than they had ever seen them. 'I couldn't let you die Lopunny. Because I wouldn't want to create another me as a result.'

This comment was directed at Scizor, who said nothing but let out a shuddering breath. Lopunny clasped his arm tightly, more relieved than ever that the direction of this battle had ended their way. It seemed Bisharp was a little more emotional than they had ever thought. There was no knowing how decent a pokemon he was before the death of his wife.

'I'll be on my way.' Bisharp finished, briskly walking to the mountain wall and looking upwards. Lopunny stepped forward despite Scizor's grip tightening.

'Where?'

Bisharp paused and looked round slowly, his eyes meeting Lopunny's. She had never noticed this before but they were the exact same color as Scizor's. The chilling rage that had harbored behind them for so long had created such a contrast to Scizor's lively and adventurous glee that it had been rendered invisible.

'To find some peace.' Bisharp's last words were softer than ever. With that, he jumped vertically, beginning to scale Rylus Mountain at a surprising speed considering his spent energy. The two of them watched as he ascended higher, eventually engulfing himself into the clouds above and disappearing from sight.

'You know,' Scizor groaned, Lopunny helping him to his feet. 'If that isn't the last time we ever see him...I'll be honest, I'm going to be really pissed off.'


End file.
